Brainwaves by Burak Büyükdemir
Field notes from 26 years of investing in early-stage startups.
July 24, 2026
Something I built
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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 had been.
You only learn angel investing by losing money. The lesson shows up after the money is already gone.
So I built the thing I wanted back then. A short course, five sections, about ten to fifteen minutes. It is hands-on, not a lecture: you read real cases, make the calls, and see why most startup bets fail and what actually pays for a whole portfolio. The pattern ends up in your hands before your own money is ever on the line.
I am not sending you a lecture. I am sending you the mistakes I already paid for.
You back ten startups.
How many lose your money?
When you finish, reply and tell me what landed. I read every one.
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Until next time,
Burak
Founder & Solo GP, Startupist Ventures Fund
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Burak Büyükdemir
Founder & Solo GP, Startupist Ventures Fund · Startup Istanbul
Founder of Etohum & Startup Istanbul. Solo GP at Startupist Ventures. 26+ years building startup ecosystems across 170 countries.
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— Pliny the Younger
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