Burak Buyukdemir
Entrepreneur, VC, and storyteller. I invest in early-stage startups worldwide, share candid lessons from 20+ years in tech, and spotlight founders shaping the future. Join 45,000+ readers each week.
Your smile
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. October 08, 2026 Your smile · · · Earlier this year I had a long conversation with David Cohen, co-founder of Techstars. When I edited it myself, I kept running into parts that felt too important to cut. I cut anyway. The best I could do was 43 minutes. Watching it again, I realized some of those parts are things every founder should hear. So I am turning them into short videos. The first one is...
Minecraft
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. October 01, 2026 Minecraft · · · I love founding stories. I have been lucky enough to follow dozens of Turkish success stories from the very beginning. Yemeksepeti was at the top of that list. In September 2005, long before its founders had their exit, I put that journey and other stories into a book: Kümesteki Kartal Neden Uçamaz? (Why Can't the Eagle in the Coop Fly?) That was 21 years ago. So let...
Before Labubu
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. September 26, 2026 Before Labubu · · · My son Yaman is 11, and he loves figures. Whenever we pass a POP MART, we go in. Not just for Labubu. He wants to see all of them. If I let him, he would stay for hours. On our last trip, a POP MART showed up in front of us again, and in we went. To be honest, I am just as into it. Then the investor reflex kicked in. How did this company start? I ran a few...
The summer shelf
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. September 16, 2026 The summer shelf · · · This summer I was away for a long stretch. San Francisco first, then Los Angeles, all of it with the family and a lot of it with nothing scheduled. Upto36, one week later Last week I shared Upto36, a small game I built in three days. I did not expect it to get this much attention, and the feedback has not stopped. A leaderboard formed, and people play it in...
Upto36
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. September 10, 2026 Upto36 · · · I built a game on holiday. Three days. You cannot test your own product. You know where to tap. Play here, no download, no signup: upto36.replit.app Sort the numbers, low to high, left to right and top to bottom. Nothing to guess. Play Upto36 → Hit reply and tell me one thing: where did you stop, and why? BestsBurak · · · unsubscribe Until next time, Burak Founder &...
6 more startups
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. July 28, 2026 6 more startups · · · I talk with founders everywhere, every day. Last time I sent you six. Here are six more, from the calls since. One of them is already in my portfolio and I have marked it, so you know where I stand. On the other five I am not saying whether I invested, or if I did at all. One update. A few issues ago I said I was putting together the exact steps I go through...
Something I built
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. July 24, 2026 Something I built · · · For twenty years I have been investing in startups. Most of them lost money. That is not false modesty, it is how the math of this work goes. Nobody could teach me the part that mattered. I read the books. I sat with better investors. But judgment did not arrive from any of that. It came from investing in a company, waiting three years, and seeing how wrong I...
I made a video
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. July 20, 2026 I made a video · · · I spent the weekend building something that started as a short post. It became a PDF. Then it became my first hand-drawn animation, published on YouTube. Not because I have a channel plan. Because I kept adding one more layer instead of asking anyone what they thought of the first one. That is the pattern I want to talk about. I watch founders do this constantly,...
6 Startups I Met in June & July
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. July 14, 2026 6 Startups I Met in June & July · · · I talk with founders everywhere, every day. These are the ones that stayed in my memory this past month or two. I am not going to say which I invested in, or if I did at all. Just take a look. One more thing. I am putting together a checklist: the exact steps I go through before I invest. Every investor is different, so mine will not match...
I told Mike I was passing on this one
Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups. July 07, 2026 I told Mike I was passing on this one · · · After 26 years in this game, I have a strong preference for warm introductions. The last spotlight I wrote was about Muse Bio, a stem cell company I backed this spring. That one came from Gus Domel at Boost VC. We talked online for months and finally met in person at the Draper Summit in May. A trusted person vouching for a founder changes...
Entrepreneur, VC, and storyteller. I invest in early-stage startups worldwide, share candid lessons from 20+ years in tech, and spotlight founders shaping the future. Join 45,000+ readers each week.