Dilek was actively investing as an angel and being an active chairwomen since 2017. She has been an angel investor in companies like Picus Security, DataRow (acquired by AWS), Genomize, and Genialis, having a board seat on multiple of them.
Previously she was an investor at 212, an early-stage technology venture capital in İstanbul. She invested in companies like IyziCo, the biggest Fintech company in the region and Insider, global marketing automation software, funded by Sequoia Capital and so on.Prior to 212, Dilek worked at Groupon as Director of Strategy and Analysis, Management Consultant at Accenture and Business Developer at Koc Group. She started her career in the USA, where she held different project management positions and also started her own startup.
Dilek received a BA honors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yildiz Technical University and MBA from Johnson & Wales University, both with honor degrees. Dilek is also one of the first Kauffman Fellows, chosen from Turkey and distinguished by scholarship. She is also a founding member and leader of Arya Women Investment Platform. She is a guest lecturer at Stanford University and a judge at European Commission. Dilek was awarded as One of the Most Successful Women Leaders in Turkey, thanks to her contributions and impact on tech industry.
Outside the office, Dilek loves to experience authenticity in new destinations. She is a competitive basketball player, a serious artwork collector, and an avid reader of books. She puts deliberate effort to spend quality time with her loving family and friends; informative pastry cooking sessions with her daughter, sophisticated board games while drinking coffee with relatives and friends, or book clubs to foster intellectual curiosity between friends and colleagues. She also jumps every morning to find the leaders of future who will be able to create big impact and help them at their journey. It is fascinating to witness how her life outside the office enriches her work as an investor.
"Not everything goes the way we are expecting it to go. We get dealt bad and good hands and have to play them. That is way things are in life. There are entrepreneurs out there, who show that you can make the best of a tough situation, keep going, and win anyway. That’s grit and drive which makes them successful more than anything else." - Dilek
