⏪ Let’s hit rewind:

Picture late ‘90s Chicago. A Turkish teenager—armed with two words of English and a suitcase packed with dubiously fashionable shirts—steps out of O’Hare International, wide-eyed, jetlagged, and clearly standing out. I spot a $10 bill on the ground like the universe tossed me a “Welcome to America” tip for making it through customs.

Back home, friends said, “Once you get to America, you get rich.” So for a spicy minute, I actually wondered—was this it? Bill in hand, I was already thinking, “Okay, maybe all I have to do is keep my eyes down and collect money off the sidewalk? This is going to be easy!”

🤫 Spoiler:
It wasn’t. (If it were, you’d still find me crawling through O’Hare’s Terminal 5, flashlight in hand, instead of typing this blog.) A few days in and it was clear—opportunity here isn’t hiding under the chairs at the terminal although it’s hiding in plain sight as long as you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work for it.

Choices We Make and Obstacles That Set Us Apart

⏩ Flash forward:
I’m on the phone with a friend from back home. He tells me about the stone wall of entrance exams to get into any university and mandatory army service that sets you back close to couple years in your prime. Once you finally break through, you get to play the next game: “Who You Know vs. What You Know.” And all the while, you’re looking over your shoulder, because for every small win you get, someone else might be a little bit further behind. It’s a constant battle.

I grew up in that world. Every little gain came with extra pairs of envious eyes, loads of stress, and suspicion. Every day was a fight just to stay one step ahead of… disappointment. Most days, that’s just considered normal as you swapped stories with close friends on who’s got it worse. You got recognized and congratulated by the losses you can bear not the wins you can achieve.

✂️ Cut to now:
My biggest worry? Time. I’ve got access to more knowledge, contacts, and resources than I ever dreamed possible. The real question is: how much progress can I squeeze out of today? (And okay, sometimes my biggest challenge is just remembering where I parked my car at Costco. Seriously, it’s a recurring episode.)

If I tell someone here I’m building a successful business, spinning Top 40 at Chicago’s top nightclubs, or accumulating an alarming number of dog toys—they just nod: “Cool, man. Want a coffee?”

Buy a boat? Friends shrug.

Open a taco stand or launch a tech startup? Go for it.

Everyone’s too busy charting their own oddball route to even keep score.

🎁 Who Do You Want to Become? (Not a Trick Question—It’s a Gift)

Here’s what I love most:

In America, you’re not stuck asking, “How do I survive?” Instead, you get to ask, “Who do I want to become?”

That’s a wild luxury—right up there with free drink refills at classic diners and the complimentary coffee station at my doctor’s office (seriously, game changer).

Of course, let’s be real—there’s no perfect country. Some folks still hold way more privileges than others. There’s bias, bureaucracy, and yes, sometimes who you know, where you’re from, or your accent can still shape how far you get. So I’m not painting the States as a fantasy land where the streets are literally paved with gold—maybe just the occasional stray $10 bill if you time your arrivals right.

But when I stack it against Turkiye, where I grew up? Here, the biggest obstacle is often just… yourself.

So whenever I hit a crossroads, it’s not lack of opportunity or tough rivals slowing me down.

If we’re being honest? It’s me—my own ideas of what’s possible, how much I’m willing to invest, and how boldly I’ll let myself dream before that little voice of doubt pipes up.

🎨 Designing Your Life (and Business), Punchline by Punchline

So what happened to that $10?

Fast-forward: it became packed dance floors, fist pumps, and a CD release party in a popular nightclub in downtown Chicago—because I wanted to share my love for music and connect with people through those moments of high energy joy.

Then, I built a company—Chat Computers—because I wanted to make tech support feel more friendly and personal, less like an automated phone maze. As we grew and Chat Computers became Chat Tech Care, that spirit stayed. We still “chat” (we actually priorized listening and empahty, wild concept).

WE CARE. (Not just for your computers, either.)

These days, I’m still building, still dreaming—now side-by-side with my amazing wife, raising a blue-eyed, toy-hoarding, question-asking two-year-old who lives for his favorite crackers and, hopefully, a world of limitless possibility.

If that’s not the dream, what is?

Here’s the real punchline: It’s not about where you came from or how you started. It’s about daring to ask, “Who do I want to be?”—and knowing you get to design, chase, and remix that answer as many times as you like.

So—set your imagination loose for a second. Who’s your truest self? What’s your most joyful, bonkers version of your business?

Don’t just dream it—see it, sketch it, outline it in neon on your mental whiteboard. That’s step one toward drawing a map you’ll actually want to follow, turn by turn, into the next wild chapter.

💌 Final Thought (and an Invitation):

I love building maps—aka, those behind-the-scenes processes that take your bizarre, joyful, impossible-seeming dream and turn it into a to-do list you can actually tackle (with less crying and more creativity).

Your obstacles? They are not as bad as they seem.

And just so you know—you never have to chart this stuff alone.

If you’re ready to start your journey toward making your business everything you’ve imagined, let’s roll up our sleeves and figure out how tech can turn that dream into reality—sooner, not someday.

Your dream deserves a blueprint.

You make the space, and I’ll bring the markers—let’s map it out together.

Just say the word!

👉 Next Step:

Let’s set up a call or grab a coffee and start dreaming up the big stuff.