The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Aug 2018

Colendi is a Turkish fintech founded by Bulent Tekmen that offers fraud protection, ‘financial passports’ and credit scoring without retaining users’ personal data. The company serves 17 million users in Turkey and aims to expand into populous emerging markets such as Pakistan and Indonesia, plus broader EMEA and GCC markets. Colendi intends to become a major digital banking entity in its target regions and is pursuing the establishment of Colendi Bank. In March the company launched a new financing round and aims to raise more than $150 million by the end of the year. Management has said the Series B proceeds will support the bank buildout and broader expansion plans. The company said it was valued at $700 million following the recent raise and is pursuing further capital to reach a $1 billion valuation. Colendi builds a blockchain-based, decentralized credit evaluation and microcredit protocol designed to serve unbanked and underbanked consumers. Its core product is a real-time credit-scoring solution that bridges lenders and borrowers and is compatible with traditional banking requirements and financing methods. The company plans to develop key products including the Colendi app and use raised capital for general business operations. Colendi positions its microfinance-focused platform to enable global participation in banking through microfinancing. The team is led by co-founder and CEO Bulent Tekmen and has foundational support from infrastructure organizations ConsenSys and Token Foundry. Colendi has added strategic partners and a roster of advisors with fintech, blockchain and mobile expertise to support product and market development.

Participated · Equity · Jan 2017

Sinemia operates a subscription-based service that gives members access to movie theaters and related benefits. The company offers premium memberships that include exclusive events such as previews and discounts at hotels, restaurants and cafes. Its mobile app shows theater locations, movie showtimes, reviews and recommendations, and lets users create and customize personal movie lists and receive local offers. Sinemia says it is widely used in Turkey and the UK and has a base of over 22 million users. Led by founder and CEO Rifat Oguz, the company opened an office in San Francisco in 2016 and plans to accelerate growth in Turkey and the US. The article reports a recent $1.5M funding round to support that expansion.

Led · Equity · Aug 2015

Meal Box operates a vertically integrated healthy meal delivery service that cooks and assembles all meals in a single centralized kitchen and trucks them to 20 franchised delivery centers for last-mile delivery. The company aims to replace fast food with traditional, home‑cooked Turkish meals for young people and families, and lists its meals on Yemeksepeti as well as its own website and mobile app. About 90% of orders come through digital channels, with a call center maintained for more traditional customers. Since launching in June of last year the company has filled over 160,000 orders and runs roughly 1,300 daily orders, with sales growing more than 30% month over month. Meal Box emphasizes low operating costs via low‑rent dock stores and minimal on-site labor and promises hot delivery within 30 minutes. The company plans to expand to Ankara and other major Turkish cities before the end of the year.

Led · Equity · Jul 2013

CloudArena offers a cloud-based SaaS platform that enables hotels and accommodations of all sizes to create and manage online content, improve social media reputation, and accept reservations from all channels. The company also operates an Online Travel Agency (OTA) platform for selling accommodations, tours, and transfers. Its product set targets property management, online sales and digital marketing workflows for lodging businesses. CloudArena plans to use recent funding to accelerate growth and innovation, expand the team through new hires, and pursue acquisitions. The platform is positioned to centralize channel management and online distribution for hoteliers. Cloudarena builds Software-as-a-Service solutions for the hospitality industry, enabling hotels to manage properties, create online content to improve social media reputation, and accept reservations from all channels. Its online travel products include a recommendation engine and a trip-planning tool that helps users discover travel experiences tailored to their interests and budgets. The company was launched in late 2011 by cloud computing and SaaS veterans Arden Agopyan, Ali Beklen and Tolga Yalcinkaya. Cloudarena is based in Istanbul, Turkey. The article notes the company is actively hiring. No revenue or user metrics are reported in the article.