Hi everyone,
There’s a little product I have been wanting to work on but after a few failed attempts with Replit, and a few other AI web dev agents, I gave up.
It was not something I could’ve spent a lot of my time or money on, as I was not sure about the commercial potential, but it was still something I wanted to try my hand at.
In one of my recent conversations with a friend, I told him about it and shared a poorly designed sketch.
His first reaction was, “Why don’t you do it on Substack?”
I immediately responded with a firm no explaining how it was not possible due to the limitations of the platform.
And put the idea on hold.
The suggestion this friend made had nothing to do with Termsheet, but it got me thinking.
I have held back from adding a few things I have been thinking about, on Termsheet, mainly because of Substack’s limitations.
But after this friend’s suggestion, I decided to give it a go. Starting today, there are three new sections on Termsheet.
They’ll live exclusively on the website (not emailed) due to their high publishing frequency (hundreds of pieces over the coming weeks).
Nearly all content in these sections will be reserved for paying subscribers.
Here are the details.
a) Charts: Data visualizations highlighting key metrics and figures of technology businesses and trends in emerging markets, mainly MENA.
b) Databases: Curated datasets such as lists, tables, and trackers on startups, and venture capital in MENA.
c) Atoms: Quick insights and answers addressing key questions about internet businesses in emerging markets.
Click any section name above to preview published entries. There’s much more in the pipeline.
As Substack is not made for this, the experience esp. around navigation and search is a bit clunky, and Databases content won’t display cleanly on the phone.
(I am trying to figure out a workaround but that would probably take some time).
For sharing feedback, please reply to this email, message me on LinkedIn, or DM on X.
Now to the piece.
Fund returners
In 2012, Firat Ileri, an Associate at Hummingbird Ventures, who now leads the firm as its Managing Partner, connected Mehmet Ecevit, a gaming founder looking to start something new, with his MIT roommate Kaan Karamanci, who wanted to move on from his family’s textile business, and suggested they start a gaming company, offering to fund it.
The two teamed up with Alpay Koralturk as their third co-founder. And Gram Games was born.
Hummingbird led its $2 million pre-seed.