Pozitron Visit – 2011 TMMBA International Study Tour

The following blog was submitted by Terry Etapa and Dhawal Ogale both from the TMMBA Clas of 2011.

Pozitron (http://www.pozitron.com/index.php)

Internet banking anyone? Well, not in Istanbul. Internet banking was passed over in favor of mobile banking.

In Istanbul laptops and internet service is expensive. The general population does not use internet banking. What’s funny, according to SekerBank, the general population wants their banker to know them and their family. So, why do Turks want mobile banking? This might be because of a young mobile phone using population with median age of 28.7 years. There are about 6 banks that offer mobile banking and have 200K to 300K active users every month.

 

I’ll now talk about Pozitron, the mobile banking app company. We met with their Director of Business Development, Mr. Firat Isbecer.

 

Here is what they say about themselves:

 

Pozitron is a software developer focused on creating, integrating and securing business solutions through cutting-edge mobile technology.

 

Since 2000, the company’s products reach millions of customers and include mobile applications for Turkey’s largest banks, airlines, and media companies.

 

Pozitron has earned international recognition from institutions such as Harvard Business School and Endeavor Global Inc. and partners with industry leaders ranging from Sun Microsystems to BlackBerry. They were invited to the Harvard Business School’s Global Business Competition in 2008, which they won. In 2010, Pozitron was one of the five Turkish firms invited to the US Presidential Entrepreneurs Summit in Washington DC.

 

Mobile application development is complicated by several types of devices, a multitude of operating systems and numerous development platforms. Designing and developing a mobile application that works across mobile devices entails a testing phase that needs to be repeated for each type of device.

 

Pozitron’s Mobile Development Platform (MDP) abstracts the complexities of the underlying device from application development and hence streamlines development on mobile platforms. MDP ensures device compatibility and allows the developer to focus on application development alone.

Here is what we have to say:

Pozitron is a “Cantina” company. Since there are no garages in Istanbul to start your company, companies are started in the cantinas.

Pozitron was started in 2000, but restarted in 2005 in its present form. That extra five years gave Pozitron more respect when dealing with customers in Istanbul. Startups lack credibility.

The turning point for Pozitron was the development of a mobile banking app for the largest bank in Turkey. From this app, they gained enough experience and respect to attract customers from other banks, airlines, and media companies. Many of Pozitron’s server applications are hosted by Amazon’s cloud platform.

Pozitron’s product profile includes Mobile Banking (http://www.pozitron.com/productview.php?id=8), Mobile Betting (http://www.pozitron.com/productview.php?id=13), Mobile Ticketing, Mobile eCommerce (http://www.pozitron.com/productview.php?id=15), Multi-factor Authentication System (http://www.pozitron.com/productview.php?id=16), Mobile Sales Force (http://www.pozitron.com/productview.php?id=19), SMS Gateway, Location Based Services and more.

The entrepreneurial situation in Turkey is only starting to take shape. If you try to start a business, the first thing your parents and friends will tell you is to take up a job. Interestingly starting a company takes 1 month and winding it down takes 18 months. So entrepreneurs need to understand the climatic risks of opening a startup in Turkey.

 Pozitron earned a few million dollars in revenues last year.