The Outspeed Start-up Project
REPORT
By İpek Sahra Özgüler
International Correspondent
Istanbul, Turkey
Interview with Mustafa Tulu
President, PMI Turkey Chapter
Dear Mustafa Tülü, thank you for accepting my interview invitation about Outspeed Start-Up project. PMI TR has initiated a new project which aims to establish a dialogue between EU and Turkey to strengthen the foundational structure, organisation and management of early start-ups through utilisation of project management practices. Could you give some brief information about this project?
Mustafa Tulu: Outspeed Start-Up Project has stemmed from the observation that startups may not actively and effectively utilise Project Management tools and techniques in managing their business as a whole as well as their daily operations.
As newly formed commercial entities, start-ups aim to produce/introduce a product or a service and their initial main concern is to have the product/service ready for sale. With this focus and a long action list, they may not / do not pay attention to how they setup their operations routine and manage their limited resources in the most effective way possible. The inherent nature of start-ups typically requires that 2-3 co-founders do almost everything from prototype & product development, to business development; from marketing to sales and so on. If the foundation of a start-up is not set up correctly, problems start occurring long before the product or service is realised. Even if the business idea is valid and market research shows positive signs at the customer end, they may fail due to lack of organisation/structural issues or insufficient/unorganised planning.
In this respect, this project aims at strengthening the foundational structure, organisation and management of early Start-ups through utilisation of Project Management Best-Practices.
The funding application for the project was initiated by PMI Turkey Chapter, in collaboration with PMI France Chapter, PMI Bulgaria Chapter and PMI Slovenia Chapter in Feb 2018. The European Union funding is granted in March 2019 and the project officially started in April 2019. The project is closely monitored and evaluated by the Directorate of EU Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Turkey as well as the Central Finance and Contracting Unit at the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
What are the project objectives?
Tulu: The Outspeed Start-up project aims at creating a long-needed project management practice guide tailor made for start-ups taking into consideration the very nature and needs of the emerging companies in the start-up ecosystem as one of its main goals. Specific objectives of the project include, but not limited to,
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How to cite this article: Özgüler, İ. S. (2019). The Outspeed Start-up Project: Interview with Mustafa Tulu. Project Management Update from Turkey, PM World Journal, Vol. VIII, Issue IX, October. Available online at: https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pmwj86-Oct2019-Ozguler-outboard-startup-project-Turkey-report.pdf
About the Author
İpek Sahra Özgüler
Istanbul, Turkey
İpek Sahra Özgüler graduated from the Istanbul University with the Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering and from Middle East Technical University with an MSc degree in Software Management. She became a certified PMP in January, 2012 and a certified SCRUM Master in 2014. She works as international correspondent at PMWJ. Before joining PMWJ, she worked for global multinational companies and leading local companies such as Coca Cola, Deloitte, Turkcell Superonline,Havelsan and TAV IT. Over the years, she has gained extensive experience in managing various medium and large scale projects, programs and portfolios.
Her article named “When I Decided to Develop Multi Processing Project Manager’s System” was published in the book “A Day in the Life of a Project Manager”. She has published several articles in the PM World Journal and one in PMI’s PM Network magazine. Ipek is actively involved in sailing, writing and discovering new cultures. She can be contacted at ipeksahra@gmail.com.
To see other works by İpek Sahra Özgüler, visit her author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/ipek-sahra-ozguler/
