Our 2019 Advertising Design and Communication graduate, Hasan Can Üretmenoğlu, gave an interview to Dünya Gazetesi about his initiative. "While trying to get support from various companies that are now my competitors, I asked myself, ‘Why am I not doing this myself?’ and suddenly found myself designing the BukyTalk concept," says the graduate, continuing the interview as follows:
Started with the Sharing Economy Model
Üretmenoğlu, who notes that he and his partner Emre Baş, a computer programmer and a member of the board of directors and head of the software team, initially chose the sharing economy model, elaborates on the concept he describes as the first and only of its kind in Turkey:
"Despite knowing English, I couldn't elevate my speaking practice to the next level. I needed to constantly speak and gain mastery over the language. When I decided to start this venture, I also shaped the model in my mind. I agreed with cafes that usually have 30-40% of their seats empty to reserve a table during certain time slots regularly. I promoted BukyTalk through platforms like Facebook and Instagram to reach participants.
Afterwards, I matched those who wanted to improve their language skills in these cafes with English-speaking trainers. Every participant paid a monthly subscription fee and also contributed to the business by consuming products like tea, coffee, or toast at the cafe. Thus, a sharing economy model was fully realized. Starting from August 2019, we expanded our solutions to include a corporate section in response to serious demands from companies, in addition to the individual segment."
Doubling Valuation Between Two Funding Rounds
Üretmenoğlu excitedly shares that they continued this process with an increasing number of participants and institutions until March 2020. With the onset of the pandemic and closures, they decided to move their operations to an online platform. Üretmenoğlu describes this shift and transformation as a "rebirth":
"With the increase in digitalization due to the pandemic and BukyTalk's team making the right moves at the right time, the number of participants grew significantly each month. On December 25, 2020, BukyTalk received its first investment from Alesta Yatırım, Turkey's most active early-stage investment group, with a valuation of 750,000 TL. With this investment from Alesta, BukyTalk increased its turnover by 600% and its number of participants by 500%. From March 2021 to October 2021, the daily unique website visitors grew from 50-60 to nearly 10,000 organic visitors."
Fivefold Valuation Increase
Üretmenoğlu notes that BukyTalk's valuation increased fivefold to 21 million TL in their third funding round, after raising 4 million TL in valuation during their second crowdfunding campaign in December 2021. The company's turnover increased by 650% and the average monthly sales amount saw a 120% rise.
250 Sessions Daily with 50 Trainers
Üretmenoğlu excitedly mentions that they now operate with over 50 trainers and have the capacity to hold more than 250 sessions daily. "The rate of participants who join trial sessions and subscribe has risen to 28% in the past year. In just 8 months, we achieved three times the turnover of the previous 23 months. We have improved our Virtual Speaker processes with AI and ChatGPT infrastructure," he says.
Expanding to Other Languages
"BukyTalk has made a significant impact in the English speaking practice market with over 20 B2B brands and more than 15,000 participants," Üretmenoğlu says. "Currently, we foresee BukyTalk receiving an investment of 7.5 million TL at a valuation of 60 million TL. We have successfully completed half of this amount and plan to close the remaining portion by July 25, 2024. After the investment round, we aim to turn our successful English speaking practice operation in Turkey into a major global brand by adding Turkish speaking practice to our sales activities in Turkey and Baku. We will connect Turkish-speaking instructors with participants from the Middle East who want to improve their Turkish skills and with children of expatriates living in Europe who are now in their fourth generation. We will focus on earning dollars/euros by spending Turkish Lira."
Next Up: Russian, German, and Spanish
As a platform that brings together native or near-native English speakers with those wanting to practice English, BukyTalk has grown over 77 times since its first investment in December 2020. The initiative aims to offer services in languages like Russian, German, and Spanish to capture a larger share of the global market.
Encouraging Fearless Practice
BukyTalk is managed by a team of 8, including 2 co-founders and 6 employees. The platform provides participants with a social environment where they can speak English without fear of making mistakes. Participants can choose from available days and times with up to four other participants at their own level, whether beginner, intermediate, or advanced, through BukyTalk’s website.
ağlayabiliyor.
