The “Glocalzone”, an online marketing platform established by the entrepreneurial students of Izmir University of Economics (IUE) to help people order products from other countries, which are hard to find in their country via travelers, received support from academics. Faculty Members Taylan Özgür Demirkaya and Serdar Savaşan provided seed funding worth of 1 million TL for the entrepreneurial students. Academicians’ support increased environment of trust in students’ venture.
The platform, established last year by Burak Sönmez, student at IUE Department of Software Engineering, and Doğan Turan, graduate of IUE Department of Political Sciences and International Relations, brings travelers and those who wish to purchase products that are hard to find in close surroundings together. The system allows consumers to have access to world markets from wherever they are and for much cheaper prices. Travelers also get a commission per product.
Burak Sönmez reported that they put the Beta version into service and they had over one thousand 500 users and many successful transactions so far. “We aimed to be a trustworthy community from day one. We are increasing our growth and environment of trust with the support of academicians. Their support is so important for us. Such support in the world of entrepreneurship is happening for the first time. We feel very proud about this. We will use this investment to improve our website and for mobile applications,” said Sönmez.
'Investing academicians'
IUE Faculty Member Taylan Özgür Demirkaya stated that they wanted to support the youth and set an example by paving the way for their venture. Taylan said, “Entrepreneurship is hard. The innovative ideas of young entrepreneurs inspire us. We, as the University, place great emphasis on entrepreneurship. Some of the students taking entrepreneurship course want to sustain their ventures and get them scaled. We already provide mentoring and connection support to them. We wanted to invest in a team we know very well and provide mentoring to for one and a half year. I believe this will make a good example for the ecosystem”.
How does the system work?
After the travelers share information about their travels and the list of products they can bring on the platform, members send a request to them through the platform. When both parties come to an agreement on the price and the delivery, they carry out the money transaction via using the safe system. The system is going through the last upgrades. The Beta version in service right now allows adding travels and making contact processes except for the payment part.
