From Start-up to $589 Million Exit: Yemeksepeti’s Scale-up Success Story

Big Visions, Early Days, and a Lot of Skepticism

Back in 2001, while the global tech world was still recovering from the dot-com crash, a group of university friends in Istanbul had an idea that sounded too simple: let people order food online.

Nevzat Aydın, one of those founders, had just returned from San Francisco with a dream to digitize food delivery in Turkey—before most restaurants even had email. What started as a small website with 26 restaurant partners in Istanbul, soon became Yemeksepeti, Turkey’s most iconic tech start-up.

Today, it’s a legendary start-up vs scale-up story—complete with innovation, resistance, rapid growth, a record-breaking exit, and an unforgettable gesture of gratitude.

The Start-up Phase: Building in the Unknown

In the early 2000s, internet penetration in Turkey was low. Many restaurants didn’t believe customers would order food online. Credit card payment was uncommon. But Yemeksepeti kept building.

• They visited restaurants door-to-door to onboard partners.

• They built trust through customer service and operational reliability.

• They didn’t turn a profit for the first 8 years—but they focused on product-market fit and consumer behavior.

Yemeksepeti in those days was the classic start-up: limited revenue, tight resources, high uncertainty, and relentless iteration.

The Scale-up Phase: Growth, Funding, and Global Exit

By the early 2010s, the landscape had changed. Smartphones surged, mobile internet exploded, and online food ordering became a habit.

Yemeksepeti raised funding from international investors, scaled its operations to over 60 cities, and onboarded thousands of restaurants. They invested in technology, marketing, and logistics—and became the undisputed market leader.

In 2015, Yemeksepeti was acquired by Delivery Hero for $589 million, marking one of the largest tech exits in the region at the time.

This wasn’t just a scale-up—it was a benchmark for Turkish entrepreneurship.

More Than Money: The Culture of Sharing

What made this story even more remarkable was Nevzat Aydın’s decision to share $27 million of the exit value with his employees. From developers to customer service reps, the team behind the vision was rewarded.

It became a defining moment—not just in Turkish business—but in conversations around startup culture, loyalty, and leadership.

Start-up vs Scale-up: What Yemeksepeti Teaches Us

• Start-ups may operate in skepticism and chaos—but with the right vision, they plant the seeds of change.

• Scale-ups require structure, expansion, and resilience—often at a much higher level of complexity.

• Timing, market readiness, and team culture are as important as the product itself.

• Your biggest impact may be measured not just in revenue, but in how you treat your people.

✅ Key Differences at a Glance

Category	Start-up (2001–2009)	Scale-up (2010–2015)
Revenue	Very low or non-profit	High and growing
Team	Small, multi-tasking	300+ across cities
Trust & Market	Low adoption, high friction	High trust, nationwide dominance
Business Model	Still evolving	Proven and repeatable
Mindset	Survival and iteration	Expansion and leadership

Conclusion: A Homegrown Unicorn Before the Term Was Popular

Yemeksepeti wasn’t just a business—it was a cultural shift. And Nevzat Aydın’s journey shows that knowing where you are on the start-up vs scale-up spectrum is key to making the right decisions.

Whether you're building the first version of your idea or preparing your company for its next leap, stories like these offer a compass.

At ADANOVA, we help businesses of all sizes clarify their vision, align their structure, and grow with purpose.