Off the Bus, Into a Supercar!

I have addressed thousands of university students all over the world for a number of years, and here is what I’ve learned: almost all university students mistakenly believe that in order to be successful as an entrepreneur, a person must have a family member or a friend in an influential position, have a strong network, or be rich. That is why I decided to write this book. I had nobody who was in a position to exert influence on my behalf, nor did I have family fortune or a network to rely on. As the son of a teacher and a retired army officer, in my wildest dreams, I never would have thought I would start a company—without a penny to my name—that would become one of the top one hundred franchising companies in Turkey. Or that the president of the United States of America—the land of entrepreneurs—would invite me to the White House to talk about entrepreneurship, and that the Turkish prime minister, who leads the sixteenth largest economy in the world, would hand me a letter to deliver in person to President Obama. I couldn’t have imagined that I would one day be on CNN International commenting on President Obama’s Washington Summit or that I would be one of the 110 Dragons from twenty-two countries on the most important entrepreneurship TV show in the world, Dragons’ Den (Shark Tank in the US). However, all these things truly happened to me. Would you have believed these things were possible if you had seen them in your dreams? I had no friends or family backing me up, no money, no network at the time. I could have easily just resigned myself to my situation with a “the heck with this world” attitude. But I did not. I believe wholeheartedly that our beautiful world was created to convert everyone’s dreams into reality—as long as you dream and continue dreaming. I am writing this book because I would like everyone, from age seven to seventy-seven, to look at the world from my perspective, to see what I see in it. In this book, I have explained with all sincerity and frankness how I accomplished my goals. I hope that you realize that you are no different from me in many ways. If I was able to do it, then so can you—and probably a lot better and easier than I did! This is an account of how I managed to accomplish so much in a short time. On one hand, I am telling my life story; on the other, I am explaining to you what you need to do to become a successful entrepreneur and build your own business. I hope my advice sheds a light on the subject that will help you find success. I am confident that, once you start reading this book, you won’t be able to put it down. I present this book as my gift to all the entrepreneurs of the world, wishing that it will help release the entrepreneur in you. Baybars Altuntas