Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Many business people including TOBB Young Entrepreneurs Council Chair Ali Sabancı, D3 Platform President and TOBB Young Entrepreneurs Council Deputy Chair Gülden Yılmaz, TOBB Turkey Textile Industry Council Chair Abdulkadir Konukoğlu, TOBB Turkey Venture Capital Assembly Chair Göktekin Dinçerler, Cenk Bayrakdar and Hasan Aslanoba shared their experiences with young enterpreneurs and entrepreneur candidates throughout the day. - “Now countries are importing entrepreneurs” TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said in his speech that the Soviet Union fell apart due to a lack of entrepreneurship and that Germany and Japan, devastated in the war, are among the world's strongest economies thanks to their entrepreneurs. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Currently, the 20 richest countries in the world are the 20 most entrepreneurial countries. Now countries are importing entrepreneurs. 52% of entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley were born outside the United States. Entrepreneurship is now the most valuable passport in the world. It is more valuable than the red or green passport. Look at China or Germany; they grant entrepreneurs coming to their country with private visas and residence permits.” - The solution to unemployment is also in entrepreneurship TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that 1 million new people join the employment market every year. “I have been saying 'Be an entrepreneur,’ for 10 years, everywhere. This works. Entrepreneurship has become fashionable. Dozens of entrepreneurship ideas come to me every day. If you ask me who is the entrepreneur, I‘ll say it in one sentence: Entrepreneur is the person who crosses the entrepreneurial boundaries for me. In the past, space engineering was only known to Russia and the USA. Now entrepreneurs come to mind. Commercial space travel starts. New entrepreneurs from the United States are working on how to make space mining viable. We are living in such a world. Those who transcend boundaries are successful entrepreneurs.” - Hisarcıklıoğlu's entrepreneurship advice TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, presenting his recommendations to entrepreneurs and entrepreneur candidates, underlined that first of all, it is necessary to imagine. To be an entrepreneur, he said people have to go after dreams without being afraid. TOBB President quoted Muhammad Ali, “There are no wings on a man without imagination,” and continued, “The only area where there is no border is imagination.” Second, hard work. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “If you do not act, you will live only in your dreams! You must work hard to get ahead.” The TOBB President, pointing to Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, said, “The story of Bezos is interesting. He works in one of the world's most important investment funds in New York City before setting up Amazon. One day he says he wants to leave his job to his boss. The boss asks him what he want to do. Bezos tells the idea of selling books from the internet. The boss says, 'I like the idea very much, but it is very simple for you, give up this idea, keep going in your job.' Look, Amazon started with a simple site, just selling books. But after this seemingly simple dream, a huge commercial giant emerged. If Bezos had listened to his boss, today there would not be an ‘Amazon’ website. If you are passionate about an idea, get after it.” - Create new solutions Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized the importance of being innovative, “My grandmother raised me not to make up new stuff, but creation is innovation.” Stating that solutions need to be created according to needs which arise, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed to Uber, Airbnb, and Whatsapp as examples while giving advice to create what has not been done yet. TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu also advised those who who want to be entrepreneurs, “Take risks, be brave. Do not give up. Try again. Follow the changing global trends. Set up partnerships. Your way to prosperity is through combining forces. Do not give up honesty. Because the trick of business is honesty. Use technology and internet well.”