I wouldn't be an entrepreneur

10 News - February 6, 2025 - https://10haber.net/yazarlar/tugrul-agirbas/benden-girisimci-olmaz-584080/

For three years, I've been giving talks at various venues on the themes "From corporate to entrepreneurship" and "What makes me?" when I received a message on my phone saying, "We'll be meeting with a group of people who want to be entrepreneurs or have already become entrepreneurs, and the audience might be large." I reconsidered. Instead of pontificating about "how I became an entrepreneur" or "how to be an entrepreneur," amidst all these entrepreneurs, I decided to talk about "I can't be an entrepreneur."

This week, I found myself in a wonderful environment at Farklabs, a company that Ahu Serter and her team have worked so hard to bring to a new level, contributing significantly to institutions and entrepreneurs. I participated in the "Arya Entrepreneur Workshops 42," sponsored by Akbank Enterprise Banking.

As always, I was met with warm hosting from Arya and the Farklabs team, beautifully organized panels, familiar and generous speakers, and a wonderful audience. I was also met with numerous Genwise alumni and LinkedIn correspondents. It felt more gratifying to share my story of leaving the corporate world and the challenges I faced with someone who has worked in the corporate world for 32 years and is a better expert in this field.

My reasons for changing paths were very clear

Yes, I've started new businesses and founded a startup called Genwise, but I'm still a long way from the hardcore startup founders. And my reasons for becoming an entrepreneur or changing path were very clear.

Talking about the same topics with the same people every day, sitting in meetings that drag on and on without any results, being forced to meet with people I didn't want to meet too often, and meetings and trips that popped up on my agenda without my knowledge had made me ask myself, "Is this it?" for the past two or three years. I've been questioning, "Let us produce and work."

I certainly didn't feel like I was the right person to explain the corporate world and its rules. Even after spending many years in the corporate world, my choices, decisions, and actions kept me as far away from the corporate world and its people as possible. Even while I was inside, I kept an eye on what was happening outside, and within the work we did, my inspiration came primarily from outside.

I took my "I'm not an entrepreneur!" pitch with me and entered the hall. And I wasn't surprised; I was probably the last person in the entire room to talk about being an entrepreneur. I was standing in front of entrepreneurs from all ages, generations, professions, and schools. What I love most about diversity is a group that nurtures and supports each other.

The encounter that was destined to be one of the most interesting events of the year for me happened when I finished the presentation and started talking to people.

During my presentation, I noticed a young man listening very attentively. To concentrate on my speech, I usually focus on one or two people who I believe are listening well, and I look at them as if I'm explaining something. This way, the crowded room doesn't bother me; it feels like I'm having a friendly conversation with three or five friends. After the presentation, I saw this tall young man and thanked him for his attentive listening. He truly deserved a thank you for making me feel at ease during the presentation.

Five minutes later, he came to me and said, "Did you mean I didn't listen well? I didn't quite understand." I was surprised. "If I meant it that way, I would have said you didn't listen well," I said. "I spoke exactly what was on my mind," I said. And then I realized why I was so glad I chose the topic, "I won't be an entrepreneur."

He changed his name to Steve

“I'm an entrepreneur, and my name is Steve,” he said. I blurted out, “Nice to meet you, I'm Tuğrul. Are you a foreigner?” Thinking of my friends who speak fluent Turkish and have been doing business in Istanbul for years.

"No, I'm from Izmit, but I changed my name from Ayet to Steve because I'm a Steve Jobs fan," he said. He showed me the Ayet on his old ID and the Steve on his new ID. I asked about his family's reaction. He said he had received support from his brother, a lawyer, in the change process. You see why I said, "I wouldn't be an entrepreneur," right?

While I couldn't set a goal for myself other than growing my corporate business and brand across vastly different timeframes, both in Türkiye and abroad, the fact that young people were brave enough to change their names and adopt the name of an entrepreneur they were inspired by no longer surprises me; in fact, it makes me think this must be their passion. I listened to the panel and speakers following me. I chatted with those who stayed until the end of the meeting.

Another listener listened from the front row and after the speech said, "I asked you the question on LinkedIn, can an academic become an entrepreneur after 50?" And I got my answer: "It could be me," he said. Fifteen minutes later, I found myself chatting with a high school senior who had founded a startup at 15. As he told me about his startup and the award he'd received, I thought about the importance of curiosity.

These are the things that excite me: people of different ages and generations thinking about the same things, wanting the same things, thinking together, and creating together. I dedicated the last part of my presentation to the topic of "curiosity," writing a single line on a single page: "If curiosity ends, life ends."

Here I am, face to face with vivid examples of why I wrote this. Five minutes later, I was chatting with someone who left a 5-year corporate career last week and wants to become an entrepreneur but doesn't know where to start. When we start without preparation, we fall down more easily, struggle, and don't know who or where to ask for help.

We can't find it. However, if we plan what we're going to do and which direction we're going to take two or three years before we even start, talk to people involved in the business, and map out our roadmap, things change. We continue to see excellent examples in Genwise graduates. They're not just starting businesses and entering different fields, they're also forming partnerships and starting to work together. It's crucial to act together, not alone.

As I left the meeting and stepped into a disastrous traffic jam, what I remember were new encounters, conversations, inspirations, and, most importantly, the feeling of "I'm not alone, there are many of us." You're not alone, and there are many people like you—people who have started, those who haven't yet had the courage, those who have started, those who have received investments, those who have failed and emerged, and those who have started new businesses.

If I change, the world changes, everything changes.

I've hired people who had been entrepreneurs and then moved to corporate management, and they've been hired at the director level. I strongly believe that an entrepreneur makes a good corporate manager, and that someone who comes out of a corporate environment with experience and knowledge will be a good entrepreneur. And they'll have an easier time convincing investors. When you build a business, set goals, and build a team like an entrepreneur, not like a corporation, you develop the excitement and desire to work in an entrepreneurial organization.

Both in corporate and entrepreneurial settings, the things that motivate us and the things that stop us are very similar.

The first thing we need to be ready for is: Am I ready for change? If I change, the world changes, everything changes.

Then a little inspiration, a little courage, new connections and friends to motivate me, and a little bit of the method and rules of the trade. The rest will come. What's really important is finding solutions to the issues that hold us back.

The most important thing holding us back is ourselves—you. Then there are worries, fears, feelings of failure, and the ever-increasing anxiety within us all. To overcome these, we need change and courage. We need to start by trusting ourselves and those around us. By being generous, giving and taking, and sharing… That's when you start to think, "Maybe I'm an entrepreneur."