QUESTIONS TO FIRAT ISBECER, WHO LED CHANGE VIA INNOVATION

“Firat Isbecer is an entrepreneur and an angel investor. Isbecer co-founded Pozitron, a pioneering mobile banking and payments software company that was acquired by London based fintech star Monitise plc in 2014. As the Managing Director of Monitise MEA, Isbecer oversaw the company’s Eastern Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and Africa operations. Monitise was later acquired by US-based financial services tech giant Fiserv Inc in 2017. He left the company and founded Commencis. Commencis builds purposeful digital transformation journeys and products for leading brands across the globe.” (crunchbase.com)To begin with, who is Fırat İşbecer? How did you show up to entrepreneurship and innovation market?

To begin with, who is Fırat İşbecer? How did you show up to entrepreneurship and innovation market?

I was born in Istanbul, got middle and high school education at Robert College and then got my BA degree in Communications at Galatasaray University. Then I got my master’s degree on geopolitics with the joint program of Universite Paris 1 – Sorbonne and Ecole Normale Superieure. Throughout my education life, I prepared and presented programs and news on technology in radio and newspapers.

My interest in the field of technology and my brother Fatih İşbecer, who was already an entrepreneur in that field back then, pushed us towards working together and I returned to Turkey from France in 2006. During Pozitron era, we have played a role in laying the foundation of the ecosystem of Turkey’s mobile banking, mobile commerce and payment systems. We were the pioneers in many fields, i.e mobile banking, and became one of the fastest growing companies in Turkey.

What is the main value proposition that mobile solutions of Pozitron and Commencis have offered? Have Commencis achieved its purpose of value?

Pozitron has successfully caught up with the mobile trends in Turkey and the world. Particularly focusing on and pioneering in the mobile banking industry, Pozitron constructed the mobile channels of many banks, including İş Bankası. It provided mobile transformation for business customers not only in banking but also in many sectors such as airlines, insurance, retail, pharmaceuticals and ticketing.

Commencis, on the contrary, should not be limited to mobile channels. Commencis is a company engaged in digital transformation, using new technologies, designing and carrying out the digital transformation of giant brands. We support the growth of these companies with cloud, analytics and artificial intelligence solutions.

Commencis has not completed its first year yet, but quickly become a well-known brand in the industry. Our goal is to increase awareness of this brand in the global market.

What were the main factors that made you think your product will be successful or unsuccessful during the process of introducing, launching and integrating Pozitron to the business market?

Positron was founded in 2000, but the turning point was when we started working with İş Bankası in the field of mobile banking. We created a wonderful product called İŞCEP and today there are over 5 million active users. Thanks to İş Bankası, we learned to do business at corporate level. We earned a great reference.

In a short spell we began working with giant brands such as İş Bankası. In 2013, we were growing very fast and the number of territories in which we operate began to increase. In the meantime, we met Monitise company, which was traded on the London Stock Exchange and whose story was similar to Pozitron’s story. Monitise wanted to make an acquisition for regional expansion, product diversity and R & D investments. They came to us with an offer and we said yes to this proposal because it would be a global merger both in cultural and strategic terms, and in February 2014 we sold Pozitron to Monitise. This was also one of the largest acquisition agreements in Turkish technology history.

If we consider the periods when you developed Pozitron and Commencis, what are the main technological and innovative differences and changes in these two periods during the process of introducing and integrating your product to the market?

Positron was founded at a time when mobile technology was at the forefront. Our work was therefore mobile-oriented. On the other hand, Commencis came to life when artificial intelligence and big data came to the fore. Of course, mobile remains an essential of our life, but today we are able to actualize many distinctive experiences via a number of technologies including artificial intelligence, AR / VR and IoT. The differences between these two periods in the field of technology were reflected in the needs of our customers and our corporate strategy.

How had major corporations and family firms gone through innovation in the changing market environment, i.e digital transformation, based on your observation? What can you deduce from mobile and digital oriented business solutions, such as mobile banking, that Pozitron and Commencis generated with such firms?

In the period that we offered mobile solutions, mobile usage was not as widespread as it is today. Digital transformation and innovation for companies were not as important as today because the number of users was relatively limited and user habits had not yet been settled.

With the change of technology, user habits and expectations have changed. And it continues to change with every new product and service on the market. Companies are insufficient to reach the pace of innovation within their organization. They need to stay closer to user needs and technology. They satisfy this need by opening incubation centers, innovation centers. Their collaboration with entrepreneurs contributes to both the sector and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Today, companies producing goods market premiums and promotions in addition to their main products and services to capture a better brand value and profit margin. Considering smart phone applications operating in services industry, to what extent do you foresee this technology can improve in the future? In your opinion, what would be the next step for applications?

Companies in almost every industry are currently aiming to offer their customers a more personalized, easier and smarter experience. In doing so, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between the digital and physical world. Experience is not only limited to mobile applications. Besides, using artificial intelligence, we see that personalization comes to the fore, from personal assistants to applications that give you smart suggestions.

In an economy which is dominated by the service sector and directed by rapid change and innovations, how did your enterprises take position? How have these enterprises hedged against the competition of change and innovation?

You have to change constantly at a time when continuous change and innovation create competition. You have to constantly question and seek better. You need to test new ideas and redraw your path according to the result.

Do you think that well-rooted organizations with more formal structures-like THY, İş Bankası- are altering their corporate culture, strategy and/or goals in order to adapt to change? How could your business and entrepreneurship have contributed to this alteration/adaptation?

We observed that the strategies of the institutions we work with have changed with changing economic conditions. Digital transformation inevitably came to the fore especially in order to stay competitive and ensure growth in the sector. With the acceleration of digital transformation, we observe that corporate cultures are changing. In order to take action faster, different initiatives started to be realized especially in the field of banking. Of course, we contribute to accelerate the digital transformation of institutions.

Does being a team has a positive contribution to innovation? Do you think teams should be independent with a horizontal structure or guided by a dominant leader to innovate more? How has this conflict related to Pozitron and Commencis, how was team and task group management handled in your case?

Being a team allows you to combine different perspectives, abilities and competencies. You can move faster with a team running for the same goal. In Commencis, friends from different divisions come together to form “teams” and “task forces” and work together.

Which element have you relied on more during the phase of developing new product such as mobile solutions: motivation or ability? In your opinion, which factor is more important for radical changes in technology?

In my opinion, ability is to have a great capacity to succeed in a field. A high motivation is needed to make this capacity a success. There are a lot of obstacles in front of you if you want to innovate, to bring out something new that hasn’t been tried before. To overcome them and to reach the conclusion you need not only the ability but also the motivation.

Have Pozitron and Commencis seen and take advantage of market demand, or innovation market reacted to services Pozitron and Commencis supplied? In general, which is more effective for the success of change: monitoring the customer demand or penetrating to market with what you already have?

Being able to go to the right audience with good marketing is as important as shaping the product according to the demand in the market. The product or service you offer should differentiate from the competition, as well as your brand and marketing strategy. You need to bring them together in the middle. In doing so, you need to quickly test and shape your product and marketing according to the feedback you receive.

What can you recommend to an entrepreneur candidate who aims to lead change and innovation in the market in the future? Which steps should s/he take? Which fields should s/he put the most effort on?

As a mentor, I don’t want to have a very didactic expression, but our daily life, especially the business world, is changing. This change is happening very quickly and anyone who cannot follow this change will be eliminated. So embrace change and try to follow it. Young people’s preferences and their desires will shape the new world.