The third edition of Entrepreneur’s Thursday—an entrepreneurship meetup organized by Aposto with the support of Paribu Ventures—was held at the end of last month, featuring a discussion focused on startup founders’ priorities for the year ahead.
The third edition of the event, themed “World in 2025: Risks and Opportunities,” began with opening remarks from Orhun Canca, Co-Founder and CEO at Aposto, and Umutcan Savcı, Co-Founder and CFO at Aposto. “In these times when we’re fighting an epidemic of loneliness, we value gathering people who create and generate value,” they said, setting the tone for the evening.
Key topics from the third edition of Entrepreneur’s Thursday
The third edition of Entrepreneur’s Thursday featured Ussal Şahbaz, Managing Partner at Ussal Consultancy, and Sabrican Zaim, Founding Partner at Pars Venture. Ussal Şahbaz delivered a brief yet comprehensive snapshot of today’s global economy, political climate, and technology landscape. In the second session, Sabrican Zaim delved into a highly anticipated topic: “What does life after an ‘exit’ really look like?” What challenges did he face? What were his expectations—and how did reality compare? Sabrican Zaim shared insights into what life after an “exit” truly looks like.
In what has become a signature element of Entrepreneur’s Thursday, the final session featured an open discussion where every participant had the chance to contribute as a speaker.
The US under Trump
Şahbaz shared his perspective on the potential shifts in the United States following the election of Donald J. Trump to a second presidential term. He noted that significant changes in U.S. policy are likely in the period ahead and also touched on developments in European countries as part of his broader outlook. Şahbaz identified Europe’s aging population and reduced working hours as key concerns, outlining the future challenges they may bring.
The road to multi-dimensional fintech investments after the Paymes exit
Sabrican Zaim reflected on his entrepreneurial journey, sharing insights from his exit experience with Paymes. He shared that Paymes—founded in 2017 and backed by five investment rounds—was acquired in 2022 by PayTabs, a company whose investors include Aramco. He also noted that PayTabs currently operates in seven countries. Following the acquisition, Paymes rapidly expanded its reach beyond Türkiye and Azerbaijan, entering markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia within just three months, according to Zaim.
You can find detailed highlights from the presentations in this issue on Aposto. To stay informed about the next edition of Entrepreneur’s Thursday, be sure to follow Paribu Ventures and Aposto on social media.
Bu içerik en son 12 May 2025 tarihinde güncellenmiştir.
