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 100,000+ readers each week.
The Hero Delusion
Everyone tells you to “just start.” They never mention the bill. Not the financial one — the emotional, physical, and personal price you’ll pay. The world loves to romanticize founders: visionaries, hustlers, builders of the future. But behind the glossy pitch decks hides a harsher truth. 72% of founders develop mental health struggles. 43–48% end up divorced. 55% suffer chronic insomnia. 97% work every weekend. You don’t just build a company — you become the company. Your identity fuses with...
The Fake Traction Trap
Every week I see the same illusion — startups chasing validation, not traction. They confuse noise with progress. Fake traction looks like this: Awards that mean nothing. Press that converts no one. Accelerator badges from two years ago. Partner logos with no contracts. Free users who’ll never pay. Real traction looks boring: Daily users, paying customers, repeat revenue, organic growth. If you have to explain why your traction is impressive, it’s not traction. Stop counting likes and logos....
What Investors Don't Tell You
“Founder-friendly” sounds warm — but it’s marketing, not truth. Investors don't know your name. Until Series A, you’re dot #47 on a spreadsheet. It’s not personal. It’s portfolio math. Investors don’t know who wins. That’s why they fund five startups in one market. They’re betting on the category, not the hero. Venture isn’t faith; it’s statistics wearing optimism. Getting funded doesn’t make you special. At pre-seed, you’re a number in a probability game. One win covers ninety-nine losses....
Mentor ≠ Advisor
Early-stage decks often show more advisors than customers. Most aren’t real advisors—just friendly names. Founders confuse mentors, advisors, coaches, and consultants. I used to as well. The lines blur, but they matter. An advisor gives structured help on a clear topic. They guide you toward an outcome. A mentor shares wisdom. They’ve walked your path. A coach works on you, not your startup. A consultant delivers work for pay. Each role has value, but confusion kills progress. Mentors guide;...
How Successful Startup Founders Actually Meet
Most founders think the key to success is finding the perfect partner. The truth is, there’s no magic formula—only patterns that repeat. Founders who build together before raising, arguing, or dreaming tend to last longer. The strongest teams don’t start from friendship; they start from shared work. Prior co-workers outperform “best friends” because they’ve already shipped together under pressure. You know who misses deadlines, who stays late, and who keeps their word. Trust built through...
My Post-Meeting Prompt (I Use It After Every Founder Call)
You can have all the data, charts, and numbers — but the real insight often hides between the lines. - The way someone pauses before answering. - The topic they avoid. - The confidence (or hesitation) in their tone. I’ve learned to read these moments slowly — like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory decoding human behavior one clue at a time. After every founder meeting, I take a few minutes to ask myself: “What was not said — but still mattered?” That’s where the real decisions come from. Here...
Brown M&Ms and Bad Founders
Van Halen buried a clause in their concert contracts: remove all brown M&Ms from backstage. Rock star ego? No. Safety test. If promoters missed this detail, they'd miss the technical specs that kept people alive. I use the same test with founders. My brown M&M? Email response time. Your inbox habits reveal everything. Operational discipline—are you drowning or organized? Strategic thinking—do you prioritize or just react? Professional respect—do you value other people's time? In 20 years,...
Serendipity is a strategy (not luck)
Most founders think success comes only from strong connections—mentors, close partners, trusted allies. The truth is different. Weak ties—casual acquaintances, a friend of a friend, someone you met once—often unlock the biggest opportunities. Mark Granovetter proved this decades ago: weak ties bring fresh information, new markets, unexpected introductions. Your inner circle repeats what you already know. Weak ties give you what you don’t. Strong networks become echo chambers. Everyone thinks...
The Next Unicorn
Every founder thinks they're building the next unicorn. Zero revenue today, but somehow worth billions tomorrow. Their pitch decks show hockey stick projections based on nothing but hope. This delusion is contagious. The culture glamorizes overnight billionaires. VCs ask for massive outcomes. Founders respond with fantasy. They craft absurd narratives, use AI to "beef up generic bullet points," and present fiction as fact. The dangerous part? They start believing their own lies. What begins...
The Startup Lie Everyone Believes
Day 0: Brutal TruthMost founders fail not because their ideas are bad, but because they waste months pretending. Pitch decks. Market size slides. Fancy logos.All noise. The only thing that matters: 👉 Will someone pay you? That’s why I built 10 Brutal Days. Every day for 10 days, you’ll get one sharp, simple task.Not theory. Not motivation. Just brutal actions that move you closer to a paying customer—or prove your idea isn’t worth chasing. ⚠️ Warning: most people quit by Day 3.That’s the...
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 100,000+ readers each week.