Özlem Değirmenci

I have over 10 years of experience in managing business development & marketing and project management. Currently, I am working as Marketing & Business Development Manager at Riders.ai, a "Home for Robotics Developers" with a virtual robotics development environment. Fundamentally, I am responsible for strategic business development, positioning, go-to-market strategies, and customer acquisition strategies in the US & EMEA markets. We aim to enhance traction in the global markets and be funded in two years. Formerly, I was the program manager of ITU INNOGATE International Acceleration Program with the responsibilities of marketing, managing the pre-selecting process of the technology-based companies, organizing and operating the whole program including Turkey and the US, monitoring and reporting the improvement of the companies throughout the program. I have met with 450+ tech companies in person, assisted 100 companies in their growth modeling phase, and accompanied 56 companies in their expansion period to the USA. I've managed 6 deals of investment. Previously, I was a Project Specialist at Koç University, where I managed 65+ academics with innovative projects and coordinated the project cycle regarding financial, operational, and reporting processes. Competencies: Business development, marketing, growth, go-to-market strategy design, project management