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Eyvah Girişimci Oldum

A book by Serhat Duyar

Eyvah Girişimci Oldum

Roughly: “Oh no, I’ve become an entrepreneur!” The book is in Turkish.

“As a former sailor, I can say that this book is more than a compass: it is a lighthouse as well.”

Nuri Murat AvcıLicensed angel investor · Chair of the Board, TÜGİM
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Cover of Eyvah Girişimci Oldum: the title in yellow letters on blue and the author’s name, Serhat Duyar, above an illustration of an entrepreneur beside a screen ringed by rising arrows.

The book

This book is so you don’t have to say “oh no”.

Start-ups close, founders burn out, teams fall apart — and most of it happens in silence. This book was written for exactly that silence.

It was written for young talent, for those leaving corporate life to become entrepreneurs, and for those whose venture has not reached where they wanted it to.

In it, Serhat Duyar gathers what he learned over a 23-year journey in entrepreneurship as a founder, manager, investor, consultant and trainer. On entrepreneurship alone, 3,796 online and in-person meetings, 771 hours of training, hundreds of questions asked, the answers given and what he saw in the field showed him one thing again and again: failed start-ups and successful ones have much the same traits. The difference lies in preparation, discipline and the right positioning.

Details

Author
Serhat Duyar
Language
Turkish
Publisher
BKY-Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı
First edition
October 2026
Pages
392
Genre
Business and economics
Serhat Duyar, smiling, in a navy jacket and a black T-shirt.

Author

Serhat Duyar

Entrepreneurship consultant · Founder of Tekno Girişim Akademisi

With more than 25 years of field and management experience in entrepreneurship, business development and SME consulting, Serhat Duyar has worked in sales, marketing, dealer and franchise networks and corporate communications, over a career that runs from traditional trade to technology entrepreneurship.

As the founder of Tekno Girişim Akademisi, Duyar provides training, mentoring and consulting for founders as they develop their business models, commercialise, raise funding and scale.

An accredited SME consultant, a TÜBİTAK mentor and an independent evaluator for KOSGEB, Duyar has held a range of roles at many technology development zones and TEKMER incubators, and has worked with hundreds of founders.

Within the Ministry of National Education’s ETKİM Project, he supports education-technology start-ups as a trainer and consultant. He also trains and advises in education and entrepreneurship programmes run by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Emlak Konut and KADEM.

A graduate of Anadolu University’s Department of Economics, Duyar completed his master’s degree in Business Administration at Yalova University. His academic work centres on entrepreneurship, the ethics of competition and the start-up ecosystem; his master’s thesis examined the difficulties start-ups in Türkiye face as they are founded and commercialised.

Duyar serves on the boards and high advisory councils of several associations, and writes for publications on entrepreneurship and the business ecosystem.

Focused on passing his knowledge and experience on to the growth of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, Duyar carries out his work with an approach of “learning, applying and sharing”.

From the book

  1. Think big, start small.

    In entrepreneurship the costliest mistakes are rarely the big wrong decisions; they are the steps taken in a hurry.

  2. The other half of the apple.

    If one half of the apple is making and developing the product, the other half is developing and commercialising the business. We cannot commercialise with half an apple.

  3. A solution for everyone is a solution for no one.

    If a start-up says it appeals to everyone, it most likely does not yet know whom it appeals to.

Motivation gets you started, discipline keeps you going; the customer pays, and those who don’t improve drop out.

Eyvah Girişimci Oldum, afterword (translated)
Serhat Duyar’s digital twin: the consultant rising as a hologram from a platform on a desk. The image reads, in Turkish, “Experience. Knowledge. Vision. Always by your side.”

Digital twin

Finished the book, but not your questions?

Serhat Duyar’s digital twin is an AI-assisted entrepreneurship consultant that works the way he does. Ask it about the book or your own venture.

A few questions you could ask

  • Will this business work?
  • Where should I start?
  • Who should be on my founding team?

Open the chat with the button in the bottom-right corner.

Events

Book signings and talks

Meet Serhat Duyar about the book, in person and online.

Event calendar

  • Talk and signing

    Talk and Book Signing at the Kocaeli Book Fair

    Thursday · 19:00–21:00

    Kocaeli Kongre Merkezi, Kocaeli

    1. 19:00–20:00 · Talk: “Eyvah Girişimci Oldum! From an Idea to a Real Venture”

      Karamürsel Alp Salonu

    2. 20:00–21:00 · Book signing

      B Salonu, Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı stand no. 42B

    Add to calendar

    What lies between having an idea and building a sustainable business? How do you find your first customer? How do you spot the mistakes entrepreneurs so often make?

    At the first talk and signing held for his first book, Eyvah Girişimci Oldum!, Serhat Duyar meets his readers at the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Book Fair.

    In the talk, “Eyvah Girişimci Oldum! From an Idea to a Real Venture”, Duyar will share from more than 25 years of field experience in entrepreneurship, business development and SME consulting. Matching an idea with a real customer need, using resources well and making decisions under uncertainty are among its main topics.

    Anyone thinking of starting their own business, looking to grow their venture or curious about the entrepreneurial journey is welcome. After the talk, readers can meet Serhat Duyar at the publisher’s stand and have their books signed.

    Eyvah Girişimci Oldum! gives its readers a 20-question entrepreneurship consultation with Serhat Duyar’s AI-assisted digital twin. Opened with the single-use password inside the book, it gives readers the chance to work through their own questions about entrepreneurship.

    See you at the Kocaeli Book Fair on 8 October!

From readers

In readers’ words

Notes, questions and the “oh no” moments of those who have read the book.

Readers’ notes will be shared in this section, with their permission.

Join the newsletter to hear about reader events and the notes added to this section.

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