Saygin Yalcin

Saygin Yalçın
Born1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)
CitizenshipGerman
EducationMonroe College
OccupationBusinessman

Saygin Yalcin (Turkish: Saygın Yalçın;[1] born 1984[2]) is a Dubai-based German entrepreneur and academic lecturer of Turkish origin.[3] He founded sukar.com which was acquired by Souq.com, which was then acquired by Amazon for $580 million.[1][4][5][6]

Personal life

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Saygin was born in Bremen to Turkish immigrants.[2] In his teen years he was a skilled footballer who played in German junior league A-Junioren Bundesliga.[2]

Education

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He studied in Germany and later in the United States and Mexico. He holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Monroe College.

Career

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One of his jobs was marketing and sales for BMW in 2004. He also worked for Capgemini and L’Oreal. He first started his entrepreneurial career by founding a business in Germany. Later he moved to the United Arab Emirates, where he founded Sukar.com. After selling it to Souq.com, he later established SellAnyCar.com[7][8] becoming its CEO.[9][10] He is also well known on social media after appearing on YouTube[9] He is a visiting instructor on entrepreneurship in Canadian University of Dubai.[11] His YouTube channel produces the show Startup Hero where selected viewers pitch their idea to Yalcin and other investors for funding.[12][13]

sellanycar.com

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For the expansion of sellanycar.com to Europe, he has collected about 10 million euros in an investment round from Polar Light Ventures.[14][15][16] In another investment round, he wanted to collect 100 million euros, which would make the company a unicorn. However, the investment round was canceled.[15] In 2015 sellanycar.com also came to Germany. The goal was to take over the market leadership of the unicorn AUTO1 Group. The operating business of sellanycar.com in Germany was discontinued after a few months.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Turkish Time magazine: Haftanın girişim öyküsü: Sellanyca.cm ve Saygın Yalçın (in Turkish)
  2. ^ a b c Bild: Saygin Yalcin schaffte es aus einachen verhaltnissen zum selfmade-mann – Der Dubai-Millionär (33) Aus dem Bremer Plattenbau (in German)
  3. ^ "Saygin Yalcin". Arabian Business.
  4. ^ "Pure ambition: Saygin Yalcin, CEO of SellAnyCar.com". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  5. ^ Kim, Eugene (30 April 2019). "Amazon launches new Middle East marketplace, and rebrands Souq, the company it bought for $580 million in 2017". CNBC. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Amazon completes $580M acquisition of Middle East e-commerce giant Souq.com". GeekWire. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  7. ^ Arabian Business: Pure ambition: Saygin Yalcin, CEO of SellAnyCar.com
  8. ^ Esquire Middle East: Saygin Yalcin: Businessman? Or social media superstar?
  9. ^ a b Gulf Marketing Review: Saygin Yalcin, founder and CEO of sellanycar.com
  10. ^ Gruenderszene.de: Dieser Deutsche Gründer will Aus Dubai die Auto1 Group angreifen (in German)
  11. ^ Canadian University of Dubai: Souq.com signs MOU with the Canadian University of Dubai to promote entrepreneurship
  12. ^ StartupHero website
  13. ^ The National UAE: YouTube platform provides lift-off for entrepreneurial start-ups
  14. ^ "Sellanycar's Saygin Yalcin: from student to business celebrity".
  15. ^ a b "SellAnyCar.com Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook".
  16. ^ "Data commons for UK tech | Polar Light Ventures Portfolio".
  17. ^ "Gebrauchtwagen: Aus für Sellanycar.com". autohaus.de. Retrieved 31 July 2019.