Vehbi Çelme (IE/09’),whose innovation projects were granted by Bilkent Cyberpark, shares his experiences with Bilkent News. Following is an interview with Çelme and his friends. Here they answer questions about their projects, goals, and the innovative ideas that fueled their ambitions.
1) Can you tell us about your academic/professional background and about your business idea?
The cofounders of our company are three idealist entrepreneurs. We have several characteristics in common, but the most crucial one is likely to be that each of us concentrated on not only academic success but also on business life in university. When we graduated, all of us have already acquired at least one and a half years of professional work experience. Moreover, we performed many club and social awareness activities during our university years.
Vehbi Çelme: I joined the Social Awareness Projects (TDP) right away when I started taking classes at Bilkent. At the same time, I was an active member of Operational Research Club (OR). The real-life project and communication experiences I obtained through these activities were easily adaptable to the business world. I did market research for McKinsey and performed consultancy services for separate companies in project and production processes until I graduated from Bilkent University's IE department in 2009.
Utku Çulha:
I am not only a computer engineer, but also a bass guitarist. I was a leader in both the Bilkent Music Club and Robotics Club. I am also one of the founders of the Robotics Club. In addition I am one of the leaders of Young Kızılay Volunteers. Concerning business, I had engineering experiences in Havelsan. Moreover, with Fırat, we managed to get three books' Turkish copyrighted publication worldwide (with Yale University).
Fırat İlhan: I have expertise in educational training, information technologies and Turkish education. I concentrated on developing lecture materials for secondary education lesson plans. I've worked a training center in Kızılay for eight years, despite the fact that I am 31 years old. Moreover, I am a volunteer in NGOs such as TOG and TEMA.
This team was not founded by coincidence. Last year, Utku and I teamed up for a group project for GE-402 in Bilkent. Both of us were not evaluating the innovation project process as a requirement for this lesson. We believed that it was possible for us to implement such an innovative project. We also convinced the other team members to believe this. Merve Ülgüt (MAN), Efkan Bingöl (ECON), Çağrı Uzunoğlu (EEE) and Duygu Ağırgöl (EEE) also contributed to reaching our goals during the last two semesters. After much brainstorming, we all decided on a business idea. The inspiration for our project, which was related to a kind of stetheskop apparatus, was provided by the family members of Utku and Çağrı, who are all doctors. After detailed work on project through two semesters, we had approximately 160 pages of documentation on our business idea.
2) Can you tell us about the application process for the “Bilkent Cyberpark start-up grant to BU students/recent Grads for R&D projects”?
After graduation, Utku and I did not give up on opportunities to realize this project. We had to find financial resources to succeed. Just then, I joined a class of Nilüfer Arıak's related to entrepreneurship. She told me about some grant and credit opportunities provided by TÜBİTAK, TTGV etc. and taught me how to get them. I prepared more than 15 innovation projects for separate SMEs and submitted them to those foundations.
When we heard about the “Bilkent Cyberpark start-up grant to BU students/recent Grads for R&D projects" through an e-mail from İhsan Sabuncuoğlu, we were ready to apply. We had an innovative project, team and plenty of experience for R&D projects. With the support of USİM, we gave a presentation and submitted our project proposal. Since the CyberPlaza board of managers believed in our project idea, team and experiences, it decided to support us.
3) What is the scope of the financial/ technical assistance given by the Bilkent Cyberpark Incubation Grant?
The grant is worth 10,000 TL. We are planning to use this budget in order to construct software development infrastructure and pay office rents for one year. Actually, one of the most significant advantages of this support is its flexibility. This grant is obtained for an innovative R&D project, but Cyberpark Chair does not restrict us to just R&D. They are aware that we must also find additional finance to implement such projects. Thus, they allow us to perform consultancy and software development activities on the side.
4) What do you suggest about Entrepreneurship to Bilkent University students/grads?
We believe that entrepreneurship requires bravery and sacrifice. There are so many uncertainties in the career path of entrepreneurs. Instead of working in one's comfort zone, they prefer taking risks. Nevertheless, specifying long term strategies and short-term operational plans with many alternatives are more likely to make dreams come true. I recommend first to learn the feasibility of the rules. Those help convert dreams into actual projects. Then, project management should be learned in order to implement those feasible projects. Moreover, networking is so significant for all entrepreneurs. In order to broaden one's network, one must improve social abilities and communication skills. It enables a person to notice and create new opportunities.
5) What are your plans about your project in the short and long term?
In the short term, we are planning to apply the TÜBİTAK and Ministry of Industry and Trade R&D grant support funds. At the same time, we will search for potential investors and update the business plan for this project.
In the long term, we will visit investors with a prototype of the project and submit to them our business plan. We are planning to implement this project through an investor who has experience in the health sector. 
|
