During his lead in 2015, Yemeksepeti was acquired by the German-based Delivery Hero for $589 million (£378 m), which was the biggest valuation ever yet in Turkish internet history. He was among the 150 entrepreneurs invited from all around the world to the Entrepreneurship Summit held by USA President Barack Obama in April 2010.[2] Aydın also was one of the juries/investors in Dragon's Den TV show[3] In 2013 and 2015, Aydın was named number one on Fortune's 40 Under 40 List.[4]
Yemeksepeti career
Professional career of Nevzat Aydın started with Yemeksepeti the first online food ordering company in Turkey, providing the facility to place food orders on-line from an affiliated network of restaurants without charging the user any extra fees.[5] Aydın founded the company with Melih Odemis (chief technology officer), Cem Nufusi (sales director) and Gokhan Akan (chief financial officer), and has been the chief executive officer of the company since then.
When Aydın and the team started the business in 2001, internet penetration was very low in Turkey. Yemeksepeti did not make any profit for the first 5 years, but with a strong focus on customer experience and the convenience of the business model, they managed to convince the users and the restaurants to benefit from the huge potential of internet.
In accordance with the vision of Aydın, Yemeksepeti has continuously integrated most recent technologies and adopted global standards for customer experience. The company started to invest in mobile infrastructures in 2010 and activated Online Credit Card feature in 2013.[6]
On 1 November 2021, Nevzat Aydın resigned from Yemeksepeti.[7]
Investments received by Yemeksepeti
Yemeksepeti had its first round of investment and agreed to be partners with European Founders Fund, in 2008.[8][9] In 2012, Yemeksepeti announced a $44 million investment led by global growth investor General Atlantic (GA), which acquired a minority stake in the company, and represented GA's first investment in Turkey.[10]
In May 2015 Yemeksepeti was sold to the German-based Delivery Hero for $589 million (£378 m). It was yet the biggest internet acquisition of the Region. Founder Aydin paid out $27 million to 114 workers as a profit-sharing bonus. The bonus decision received international coverage by prominent news channels such as Time, CNN, Independent, with the Aydın's quotation of, "Yemeksepeti's success story did not happen overnight. I believe in team work and I believe success is much more enjoyable and glorious when shared with the rest of the team".[13]
Investing
Nevzat Aydın invested in 40 start-ups and the total amount of his investments reached to 20 million dollars. [citation needed] His area of focus includes internet services, mobile and online marketplaces. Nevertheless, he invests in various sectors and business models, which uses technology as a triggering factor.
