My Startup World speaks to Gokhan Akan, the Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Yemeksepeti.com and Foodonclick.com, who speaks about his company, his vision, the way forward and advice for those who want to start up on their own.

Please tell us something about yourself.
I was still in University in my home country Turkey, in 2000, when the potential of the internet started to become apparent. Even though the connection in Turkey was pretty inconsistent and slow, we believed it presented excellent business opportunity.

Together with two friends, we identified food delivery is big in Turkey and we had this very simple idea – to replace phone ordering with online ordering. That’s how we founded Yemeksepeti, a portal that is today, with over 2.5 million users, synonymous with food delivery in Turkey.

Once Yemeksepeti was established, I went to London Business School to complete my Master’s degree and started my career in London in finance where I gained extensive experience specializing in hedge fund and investment management. During this time abroad, I continued to give strategic advice to Yemeksepeti and in 2011, I returned to my full-time position as CFO.

After taking Yemeksepeti through a successful investment round with growth equity firm General Atlantic, my focus became the international expansion of the company under the Foodonclick.com brand.

Tell us something about Foodonclick.com.
Foodonclick.com is a leading online food delivery platform offering consumers a simple, easy and instant tool to order food delivery from a wide variety of restaurants and food outlets. We are present in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

How did you think of the idea behind Foodonclick.com?
Our adventure began 14 years ago, in Turkey, when together with two friends I started Yemeksepeti, a pioneering food delivery portal. The internet was in its embryonic stage, but there was a strong food delivery culture in Turkey, and we saw potential in food ordering online.

Yemeksepeti is now the leading online food delivery portal in Turkey, seeing more than 70,000 orders per day. It came naturally to us to want to expand our business model to other Middle Eastern countries. The UAE and the GCC countries have a strong delivery culture and high levels of internet penetration, and these are some of the factors we considered.

How do you think Foodonclick.com is different from similar concepts in the region?
Being a replication of its mother company Yemeksepeti, the market leader in Turkey, Foodonclick.com benefits from a proven track record of 14 years best practice, technology, processes and approach to building a similarly successful business in the GCC. We use tried and tested digital technology that is proven to be exceptionally secure, reliable and efficient.

We are a dynamic, young team, working hard to ensure that we get on board more and more restaurant partners and make sure they meet recognised criteria – quality, customer service, consistency and capacity.

Who is the target audience for Foodonclick.com’s services?
We target hungry residents who have a computer, a smartphone, have a high-paced lifestyle and don’t have time to cook at home all the time.

How do you think Foodonclick can better online food ordering services in the region?
UAE and the wider region have a strong delivery culture and high levels of internet penetration, as well as a young, tech savvy population, always on the move.

With the fast paced lifestyle and high pressured work environment experienced by many residents in the UAE and other GCC countries, Foodonclick.com provides a reliable source of up-to-date information and direct and convenient access to food delivery options in their respective neighborhoods, a hassle-free service that is completely free of charge.

At the same time, we provide our restaurant partners with instant access to more new customers than they could otherwise reach, we are able to analyze user behaviour, and we offer a valuable marketing tool that helps increase their visibility online.

Since we started in the UAE in 2010, we have noticed phenomenal growth in the popularity of the online food delivery concept. The transition from phone to online ordering is only increasing, and we want to lead this change. Foodonclick.com wants to become synonymous with food delivery and the preferred partner-of-choice for restaurants that want to grow their business.

What sort of funding was infused into Foodonclick? Have you broken even?
At the beginning of our Turkish company, the funding came from us. The company was profitable so we didn’t have any issues in the first years. In 2012 we completed our first successful round of funding from General Atlantic, a private equity fund that invested $44 million for a minority share.

The objective of the funding was to improve our Turkey operations and to expand the business model to other Middle East countries. For the time being, growth and market share are our focus – we’re currently growing at a pace of more than 200% year on year.

Are you involved in any other projects apart from Foodonclick?
Additional to being the CFO of Yemeksepeti and Foodonclick, I am looking at the moment at other opportunities of international projects.

What sort of pricing model do you follow for Foodonclick?
Our business model is simple, we are a marketplace. We are also transparent and risk-free – for our restaurant partners, we offer an instant and effective channel for increasing business, and an exceptional marketing platform to showcase their offering. There is no setup, subscription or listing fee for restaurants – we only apply a small service fee rate based on the valid orders they get through our website.

What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs in the region?
Firstly they need to have a great idea, and then the passion, determination and energy to bring it to life. Money is an important aspect, so if you don’t have your own capital to start with, make sure you choose the right investors – those who believe in your business and have the expertise to help you, without interfering too much in the day to day management of the business.

Secondly, there will be many challenges along the way, if you really believe in your idea, don’t give up, continue to fight. Thirdly, ensure you have the right people in your team – it is crucial for the success of the business. Choose people that share the same values, the same passion and vision for the business.