Meet Onur, Investment Manager at APX

Describe your position at APX in one sentence

I’m part of the dealflow and selection team, which means we are, to some extend, the gateway to APX.
From sourcing new investment opportunities, to analyzing and assessing the companies and ideas, all the way to creating investment proposals for our investment committee, we’re the first point of contact for our prospective APX portfolio teams.

How do you stay fit? (mentally and physically)

My current morning routine: wake up at 7:00am (5–10min), 7:20am morning run (20min), check phone only after 8:00am. Leave to the office at 8:15am.

I admit that it required a lot of discipline to get the routine up and running, but it worked and still does. (to be honest: sharing my daily routine with my girlfriend really helps me to stick to it)
In the evenings I couldn’t come up with a no phone/ device routine yet, but in the morning it works well and help me to kickstart my workdays.

From a social perspective, I enjoy having quality time with a small group of close friends, mainly on the weekends, visiting my family and hometown regularly and also having close friends visiting me in Berlin.

What’s your advice to people wanting to start their own thing?

Be humble, forget about your ego and be passionate about the matter.

What was your favourite subject in school and why?

Looking back, it definitely was more about my teachers than about the subject. My English, History and Physics teachers had a significant impact retrospectively — mainly because of their passion to the respective topic.

Who is your role model?

I don’t think I have a particular role model. What I do have is personal mentors. These mentors are never perfect, still, they inspire me. Whether it’s on the job, in sports, or in my personal life. Some of my mentors are much older, others are years younger than myself. All of them have one thing in common: Dedication combined with an impressive commitment.

What was the biggest turning point in your career?

My first job abroad (in an advisory/ audit firm in Istanbul), combined with a remote job as a part time Investment Analyst for a corporate VC firm — definitely a big enabler for my career, because I actually realized that there is a way to create individual and entirely new paths with huge opportunities by thinking out of the box.