Marmara Gazetesi – Erdem Genç

Erdem Genç, 33, who founded his own company at 20 and never put off his dream of travelling the world while growing its turnover to millions of dollars, shared his story with university students.

Shattering the stereotypical image of a boss, 33-year-old Erdem Genç, who founded his own company at 20 and never put off his dream of travelling the world while growing its turnover to millions of dollars, shared his inspiring success story with students at Yaşar University. Guiding young entrepreneurs with the book 20 Yaşında Patron Olmak (Becoming a Boss at 20), which he wrote three years ago, Erdem Genç said: "When you find a good business idea, don't hesitate to put it into practice. And if you develop that business with love, success will surely come. And don't forget, money isn't everything; everything is time and happiness."

HE BECAME PRESIDENT OF THE ROCK CLUB AT UNIVERSITY

While a Mechanical Engineering student at Yıldız Technical University, Erdem Genç was elected president of the university's Rock Club and began organising concerts on campus; he then founded his own company at 20. Growing its turnover to millions of dollars over the years, Genç, now 33, quickly became a well-known businessman. The young businessman also published a book titled 20 Yaşında Patron Olmak, sharing the experience he had gained over the years with entrepreneurs. Extremely warm towards his employees and breaking the stereotypical image of a boss, Genç met with Yaşar University students and told his success story.

HE FAILED AT HIS FIRST EVENT, BUT DIDN'T GIVE UP

Describing his experiences, Erdem Genç said: "As a member of a rock band, besides playing successful concerts I had also started organising successful music events. Once I began earning money from it and enjoying it enormously, I founded an events company I named M3 in order to make it professional. I had the chance to meet major promoters such as Ahmet Sun and tried to learn the ins and outs of the business. But my first big event off campus was a major failure. We were expecting 20,000 people at a concert featuring famous rock artists such as Hayko Cepkin, Duman and Erkin Koray, but because of heavy rain barely 2,000 turned up. All my savings were seized and, on top of that, I ended up incredibly in debt."