Burcu Tuzcu Ersin acted as a panellist and pre-selection jury member during TÜSIAD’s 2017 Bu Gençlikte İş competition. Established in 2011, the business competition for university students supports development of young entrepreneurs. In particular, the competition raises the profile of entrepreneurship as a career path and assist innovative ideas to find capital investments.
The 2017 competition saw 33 teams pass the pre-selection stage, participating in a training camp, hosted by Özyeğin University on 15-18 March 2017.
During the training camp, Burcu participated in a panel discussing the path of an idea through to investment. Moderated by TÜSİAD’s Assistant Secretary General, Melda Çele, the panellists were:
- Burcu Tuzcu Ersin, Partner at Moroğlu Arseven
- Murat Peksavaş, Competition and Intellectual Rights Coordinator at Koç Holding
- Rina Onur Şirinoğlu, Partner at 500 Startups Istanbul
- Taylan Baykurt, Partner at Mazars Denge
- Fikret Demren, Founder of FMK Technology
Throughout the competition, teams’ business concepts are assessed against a range of criteria, such as innovation, added-value, social and environmental impact, as well as an idea’s potential to be realized.
12 teams were selected from the training camp to move forward to the semi-finals. Over the next two months, these teams will work with TÜSİAD mentors to further develop their concepts, ultimately submitting a finalized business plan and video pitch to the jury for judging.
The 2017 jury will select five teams, which will pitch their idea in person on 17 May 2017 at the Awards Ceremony, in front of the jury, TÜSİAD members, and public. The top three teams received cash prizes, amounting to 75,000 TL, 50,000 and 25,000 TL respectively. The jury is made up of:
- Esin Güral Argat, Acting Board of Directors President at Gürallar
- Nevzat Aydın, CEO of Yemek Sepeti
- Erol Bilecik, Board of Directors President at TÜSİAD
- Buğra Kavuncu, CEO of BASF Türk
- Güler Sabancı, Board of Directors President at Sabancı Holding
Established in 1971, TÜSİAD (the Turkish Industry and Business Association) is a volunteer-based business organization, made up of Turkey’s leading entrepreneurs and executives. Its members represent more than 4,000 companies. TÜSİAD’s activities aim to support the competitive market economy, sustainable development, and participatory democracy. More information can be found on the TÜSİAD and Bu Gençlikte İş websites.
