Building software companies, slowly and on purpose.
I'm Cem, a software founder based in Istanbul. I've been building software since 1999. Today I run two companies, build and acquire products, and write a weekly essay about the decisions behind the work.
- 1999
First software sale
A client in Hong Kong answered one of my cold emails. The tool I built for him became Octeth.
- 2013
First exit
SMTP, Inc. acquired PreviewMyEmail, the inbox preview tool I launched in 2008.
- 2020
Founded Kayra
A portfolio company that builds and acquires small software products.
Start here
- The story
28 Years on the Internet: My Unfinished Story
A 1998 business directory, a cold email that got one reply out of thirty, and how that reply became Octeth, Sendloop, and a portfolio of more than twenty products.
- How I build
Make Small Bets, Not Big Sacrifices
Why I spread my energy across several small projects instead of staking everything on one, and why quitting an idea can be a win.
- Life and work
Doing Less, On Purpose, Gave Me More
I cut my training from five days a week to three. What the experiment showed about the difference between doing more and achieving more.
Selected work
All 20 products
Octeth
Founded · 2000On-premise email marketing software for teams that run their own email infrastructure.
My first product and still my flagship. Five major versions since its public launch.
Visit Octeth
Sendloop
Co-founded · 2008Cloud email marketing for small businesses.
Started with my brother Mert. Has served tens of thousands of businesses.
Visit Sendloop
DemoPolish
Founded · 2026Turns rough screen recordings into narrated product demo videos.
Built in five days from idea to launch. It shows how I build products today.
Visit DemoPolish
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