Startups digital economy's lead actors: Angel investor

By Musab Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Startups are the lead actors in the digital economy, Hasan Aslanoba, a Turkish angel investor and the CEO of the Aslanoba Group, said Thursday.

"The rest -- we the investors, state agencies, universities... -- all of them are side actors. Startups are at the core of everything," Aslanoba told Anadolu Agency.

He said startups are not the smaller versions of large companies, adding that startups have distinct dynamics.

He said big corporations could only survive with the current pace of technological progress through investing in startups.

"The only thing that can prevent big companies and holdings from the digital wave is the startups," Aslanoba said.

He stressed that corporations should create their venture capital funds headed by people who have high digital literacy.

"In the future, there will be 3 types of companies.

"The first type is the digital giants; the second, the startups, and the third type is one that relies on manpower which does the jobs the first and the second do not even care to do," he said.

- Turkey has an advantage

Aslanoba said the more rich Internet entrepreneurs there are in Turkey, the higher the odds of foreign investors drawn to the country.

"If we have some hundreds of Internet-rich people, foreign investors would start investing in startups in Turkey," he said.

"Turkey has a demographic advantage, as well as very big youth population. The motivation of those youth is very crucial. Compared to an aging Europe, we have got lots of advantages."

Startup refers to kind of entrepreneurship that mostly use for high-tech firms who create or offer something new. The digital economy is the economic activity that stems from online services among people, businesses, and devices.