From Turkey to the US: Helping Founders Who Make the Leap | Didem Altop, Treeo VC (TRVC 34)

What does it take for a founder from Turkey — or elsewhere in the world — to make the leap into the US startup ecosystem?In this episode of TRVC, I speak with Didem Altop, General Partner at Treeo VC, an early-stage US venture capital fund investing primarily in AI-native B2B companies and selected deep-tech opportunities with global founders who are building in the United States. A significant part of its portfolio have Turkish co-founders.Didem brings a particularly interesting perspective to this question. Long before becoming a VC, she worked at the intersection of entrepreneurship and economic development and played an important role in the early development of Endeavor Turkey. We look back at how Turkey's startup ecosystem has evolved since those early days — and at the compounding effect created when successful entrepreneurs become investors, mentors and founders of the next generation of companies.We also discuss why the United States remains such an important market for ambitious global founders. For Didem, entering the US isn't simply about accessing American customers: it means plugging into a global marketplace for capital, talent, customers, mentors and other founders.That leads us into Treeo VC itself: how Didem and her partners came together, why they decided to become first-time fund managers, the role of VC Lab in that journey, and where a sub-$10 million micro-VC fits into the much larger US venture ecosystem.AI is naturally a major part of the conversation. Rather than treating AI as a single investment category, Didem describes the different layers of the emerging AI economy and shares examples from Treeo's portfolio.Finally, we turn back to Turkey. Didem describes the Turkish startup ecosystem as having reached its “adolescence”: the country has developed considerable strength at the earliest stages, but companies can still struggle as they reach seed and Series A. We discuss what is missing, what needs to develop next, and how stronger connections with the US ecosystem can help Turkish founders scale.And we close on a more personal note: the importance of mentorship in Didem's own journey and why she sees being a resource to founders and the wider ecosystem as an important part of Treeo's mission — whether or not an investment ultimately takes place.Chapters00:00 — Introduction: Didem Altop and Treeo VC02:00 — What is Treeo VC?04:21 — Endeavor and the early days of Turkey’s startup ecosystem10:15 — How startup ecosystems create a compounding effect16:18 — From ecosystem builder to first-time VC fund manager22:22 — Why the United States? The opportunity for global founders26:41 — Treeo’s portfolio and investing in the AI stack32:00 — Where the next AI opportunities may emerge34:58 — Is Turkey’s startup ecosystem entering adolescence?45:54 — Mentorship, giving back and building bridges