Our General Manager Mr. Muhammed Kasapoğlu was a guest of the “Purchasing” Magazine

Entertech | June 17, 2023

Mr. Muhammed, we will talk to you about a wide area. Technoparks, the entrepreneurial world and their effects on business life

But before that, let's get to know him briefly.

Who is Muhammed Kasapoğlu?

I was born in 1982 in Fatih, Istanbul. I completed my undergraduate and graduate education in the Department of Chemistry. I continue my doctoral studies at Yıldız Technical University, Department of Food Engineering. Between 2005 and 2014, I worked as an R&D manager in various pharmaceutical companies. Between 2014 and 2021, I worked in various positions at Yıldız Technopark. Especially after 2019, I worked as the Technology Transfer Office Manager. During my Technology Transfer Office experience, I had the opportunity to work on commercialization mechanisms for academic outputs and entrepreneurs in the process of obtaining added value from R&D and knowledge. Since October 2021, I have been working as the General Manager of Entertech Istanbul Teknokent A.Ş. Since October 2021. I would like to use my R&D-based work culture, Teknokent experience and my perspective on technology transfer mechanisms for the new goals and development of Entertech.

ENTERTECH Istanbul Technopark is growing day by day. It is progressing by adding on. It is a center of attraction in its region. Can you explain the current status of Istanbul Technopark ENTERTECH?

As Entertech Istanbul Technopark, we define our future vision as "to create an innovation ecosystem that aims sustainable development focused on social and technological impact and shapes the future on a global scale" and we move forward by setting goals in this context. Today, Entertech hosts more than 120 technology companies in a leasable area of approximately 14,000 m2. Approximately 45 of these companies are venture firms that we can define as start-ups. We not only provide physical space to our companies, but also guide the processes such as TRL development, prototyping, project design, incorporation, productization, commercialization and post-commercialization financial management, revenue sharing, finding and receiving investments in order to transform the knowledge generated in Technopark and Universities into economic value.

We also organize various events where we bring our entrepreneurs together with investors. Thus, we both enable investors to get to know our startups closely and keep our entrepreneurs always ready for a possible investment round. One of our important differences as Entertech is that we implement financial and managerial sustainability programs for our startups. Entrepreneurs are generally experts in the technical field they operate in. However, they may need support in areas such as company management, financial literacy, organization, marketing and investment processes. In this context, we regularly include our entrepreneurs in the Financial and Managerial Sustainability Development trainings we have prepared with Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration.

Mr. Muhammed, ever since the technoparks were established, they have been a hope for people with projects. They have become a channel. How do you evaluate the development of technoparks in our country in terms of entrepreneurs, universities and companies?

Technoparks provide important exemptions and tax exemptions for companies that have R&D projects and ensure sustainability in their R&D projects. Thus, our state has ensured that the budgets allocated to R&D of the companies in Technoparks remain uninterrupted as much as possible. In addition, Technoparks make significant contributions to the innovation ecosystem of our country as platforms that develop R&D culture and habits of doing business together.

Entrepreneurship is in the genes of our nation. If you remember, in the past, you would come across salaried employees who had dreams of opening a café, opening a boutique hotel or going into business. Today, with the development of technology and the speed of access to information, the feasibility of business ideas has become easier. In this context, for those with R&D projects, the search for resources rather than feasibility has emerged. In this regard, Turkey has become a paradise for technology startups, thanks to the development of technoparks and the opportunities provided by our government.

I think there are also thematic technopark structures, social themed.

I think thematic technoparks are valuable, but R&D is a problem-solving business. Moreover, technical problems today can often be solved by multi-disciplinary structures. Therefore, diversity should not be overlooked when determining themes and accepting companies according to these themes. For example, software is now embedded in all sectors. Rather than being a sector in itself, it has become an accelerator and facilitator for all sectors. In this context, when creating thematic technoparks, it is important to examine where the developing technology is going.

I believe that the concept of a social theme should be approached more cautiously. First of all, it must be recognized that entrepreneurship and R&D are not money-making concepts. Every successful entrepreneur is focused on changing people's lives, providing them with a benefit or solving at least one unsolvable problem. So, naturally, every venture must have a social benefit. The definition varies depending on what we mean by social benefit. Solving an important problem that makes people's lives difficult with technology and creating jobs can both be defined as social benefits.

But what needs to be considered here is how we match the concept of enterprise with the social theme. Not every social effort can be called a venture. Because we cannot call an effort without a revenue model, without a commercial sustainability and scalability plan an enterprise. Entrepreneurship is ultimately a commercial issue. Therefore, it is necessary to look at the impact and sphere of influence of the initiative rather than the concept of social enterprise. We understand the main contribution of technoparks as the added value they create in the national economy in terms of competitiveness with the world. There are numerous benefits such as the realization of an innovative application, the substitution and localization of an expensive product in the world. Let us dwell on the contributions to the general economy. With the development of communication technologies, the economic value of information has increased significantly all over the world. Nowadays, the knowledge economy is dominating the world. Information is now considered as a raw material. The technologies obtained from R&D studies carried out in technopolises are very important for our country to survive in this knowledge economy order. Not only production, but also concepts such as knowing how to produce a product better and developing a new production method are also recognized as economic values. Knowledge, so to speak, is seen as a commercial concept that is light in weight and heavy in cost.

There are very important technology investments and projects. But there are problems in commercialization. Does technology, i.e. the product, come first? Or is it sales orientation and the customer?

Actually, the first priority is the team. Whether it is the R&D team or the entrepreneurial group, human and relational capital is very important. Especially commercial success comes with trust. When we look at it in a very simple way, we do not easily buy a product from a brand that we do not personally trust. There is a misconception that if we come up with a very good product or method, it will sell itself. In the real world, however, this theory is mostly not valid. Even if we come up with a very important technological product, this product cannot sell itself or commercialize itself. You need to show that there is a reliable team behind it, a reliable brand. It is also important to have analyzed the needs of the market and the wishes of the customer correctly. In some sectors, even making a very high quality, excellent product is not enough for commercial success. There may be reasons for commercial failure despite an excellent product, such as the habits of the market in that sector, the financial size of the market, and the customer segment. In this context, there is no one-to-one correlation between developing a perfect technological product and commercial success. Especially R&D teams and entrepreneurs need to be in constant dialog with market stakeholders and customers. The entrepreneur must convince the market of the problem they have solved and show the customer that they have solved this problem in the most optimum way. I am not saying perfect, mind you. Product - market fit is made possible by concepts such as cost, simplicity, easy applicability, customer habits, and the status gained by the customer. Our entrepreneurs sometimes fail to launch products that can solve the current needs of the market while trying to reach perfection. They can lose the market to others.

Companies have limited marketing budgets. Field sales experience is almost non-existent. It is very troublesome for companies with weak corporate market experience to succeed in this field. Unfortunately, many of them cannot cross the "valley of death". What would you suggest to companies?

Marketing budgets for entrepreneurs cannot be expected to be sufficient. However, low-budget marketing and reaching customers can be somewhat easier for entrepreneurs, especially with the use of social media. In this context, it is important to make good use of social media channels. Also, as I mentioned above, entrepreneurs should be in constant dialog with market stakeholders and customers during product development. They must convince the market of the problem they are solving. This type of market research does not require huge budgets. By asking short questions to a focus group that uses the product or its prototypes, customer expectations of the product can be determined. This focus group can be family, friends, acquaintances, etc. to ensure the necessary diversity. No one expects a startup to carry out a large marketing project in a corporate structure. Participating in sectoral meetings and introducing the product to market stakeholders at these meetings can also be seen as a low-budget marketing activity. In addition, as Entertech, we also put forward some structures that support the communication and marketing activities of our entrepreneurs. One of these is Entertech Incubation social media accounts. From these accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter, we share entertaining videos about our entrepreneurs' products. In addition, investors, industrialists and customers who follow these accounts can receive regular information about the development of the products they are interested in. University students are more daring than ever. Students from different programs are coming together to challenge each other. They are gaining experience. There are various programs. Individual Young Entrepreneurs (BIGG) and others.

Today, with the development of technology and the speed of access to information, the feasibility of business ideas has become easier. This is why entrepreneurship has become so popular recently. The recent rise in the impact of entrepreneurship is also based on a socio-economic base. University students, with the right team and a business idea that brings a solution, can quickly become companies in technocities and go to the market. Here, young people feel free to choose what to do, how to do it, with whom to do it and when to do it. When we look deeper, although this is not unlimited freedom, it is an important freedom compared to corporate life. And of course, we should not ignore the opportunities offered by our government. TÜBİTAK BIGG program provides a non-refundable support (450,000 TL in 2022) to pre-incorporation business ideas, which can be considered as a lifeline for incorporation. In addition, TÜBİTAK's other supports and KOSGEB Entrepreneurship Support Programs have a significant impact on encouraging entrepreneurs.

Finally, what are your suggestions to guide young entrepreneur candidates?

Since the structure of each enterprise and entrepreneur is different from each other, I would like to stay away from cliché suggestions here. I just want to say this. We have mentioned some support and grant programs above. My advice to entrepreneurs is not to limit your business idea with the projects you write while applying to these programs and the grants you will get from these programs. Always make your business idea bigger than the projects. See these projects as steps that support the development of your business idea. Secondly, and more importantly, as an entrepreneur, you should plan how your venture will grow and be sustainable, without being tied to a single business idea. As an entrepreneur, you have to be bigger than your business idea, so to speak.

Thank you for this delightful conversation.