Ep016 - Ibrahim Colak, MrUsta

Streams of Progress

Ibrahim Colak, CEO & Founder of MrUsta, had a promising long career at Nokia prior to founding MrUsta.

The inspiration for his startup came to him in the form of a pain point he was experiencing that was all too common for residents of Dubai.

He validated his idea further and eventually launched MrUsta with the support of his, then girlfriend, now wife, Dunia Othman.

Listen to learn more about his experiences and how MrUsta has pivoted and become evermore customer driven over the years.

Enjoy the show!

Show Notes:

• 01:30 - Turkish beginnings from Istanbul.
• 02:15 - Microsoft years and Nokia cultures.
• 02:30 - Nokia Networks in Dubai.
• 03:10 - Where the name MrUsta comes from.
• 04:00 - MrUsta brand company.
• 04:15 - MrUsta’s service offering.
• 04:45 - Husband-Wife Founding Duo.
• 07:00 - The idea coming from real world problems they experienced.
• 08:45 - Doing a study to validate your own hypothesis.
• 09:45 - MrUsta’s evolving service offerings and their initial pivots.
• 11:00 - Feedback and customer service oriented in the offering.
• 12:30 - MrUsta’s incubation at In5 Dubai.
• 13:30 - The perks of being an in5 Alumni that MrUsta has experienced.
• 14:00 - Usta Academy and it’s offering to service providers.
• 16:15 - MrUsta from bootstrapping to Seed Funding round.
• 17:45 - Their $2.75 Million Pre-Series A raise.
• 19:45 - MrUsta’s average deal flow time per round.
• 21:00 - Convincing angel investors early on by being very clear and concise in your messaging.
• 22:15 - His three pieces of advice for raising funds in this region.
• 24:30 - His passion for scuba diving and how it acts as an escape from the ‘startup noise’.
• 27:00 - Looking to Elon Musk as an inspirational example on how to disrupt existing industries.
• 28:30 - The typical day of MrUsta’s CEO.
• 31:15 - How they conduct meetings.
• 31:45 - Ibrahim’s daily email habits.
• 32:45 - Adjusting and making priorities to have a work/life balance.
• 33:30 - His interests in history and mythology.
• 34:30 - Looking upto Ataturk.
• 35:15 - “Don’t give up and dream on”
• 36:00 - The unhealthy lifestyle of a dedicated entrepreneur and working to improve that.
• 37:00 - Dubai as a prime example of a city that exposes citizens and tourists to multiple cultures and diverse backgrounds.
• 38:45 - Accepting more feedback at an earlier age.

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