Where to invest if you are thinking about a tech startup in Turkey?

The startup scene is newly developing in Turkey. It is still not very mature and unfortunately it is mostly about “me too” type of endeavors.

The people who really are globally investing in startups are not happy with this attitude. Many claim that in order for the entrepreneurs to get better, the investors should get better too. They claim that startups which don’t deserve any money can find millions of investments from various resources. The fact that money is available even for the not-so-good ideas, business models and entrepreneurs does not really push people to their limits. Another shortcoming of the Turkish entrepreneurial world is the fact that all startups try to address everybody. There are very few new companies that target specific groups.

Elsewhere, there are startups that address, for example, the richest of the rich.

Sketch Factor, designed by Daniel Herrington and Alison McGuire, is an app that lets community members rate certain neighborhoods for "sketchiness" levels. However, what happened was that neighborhoods with large black communities seemed to be targeted the most, leading many to call the app outright racist. The press got so bad that Herrington and McGuire were forced to release a statement denying that the app had any racial tendencies, explaining the development process, and the app’s various tools against racial profiling.

For the rich girl on the go, Priv is the perfect way to get professional beauty and wellness services sent straight to you. Whether you are in need of a manicure, or a workout session, Priv, available in Manhattan and Los Angeles, sets it up for you. The prices, while still a bit steep, are actually pretty
competitive: $50 for a blowout, $35 for a manicure, $125 for a personal training session and more.

Alfred, which recently won TechCrunch Disrupt’s $50,000 “Battlefield Champion” prize, is a new startup for an old business. Founded by a group of Harvard Business School graduates, Alfred is essentially a butler service that users can subscribe to for $99 a month. Just say what you need – groceries, home cleaning, laundry – and a real human (probably not named Alfred, sadly) will take care of it for you.

Do you know any startups in Turkey that target the richest or the poorest or the elderly? There is only a strong subgroup of new companies that target families with children. For those who are interested in investing in Turkey, I strongly recommend investing in specific demographic groups.