Columbia University2015 - 2016
M.S. Sustainability Management · New York
Solar project development, smart cities, energy markets. Capstone: reducing milk waste in NYC with WWF.
about
the longer story.
Energy systems engineer, founder, builder and operator. Distributed energy, physical ops, and software, built from first principles.
Energy systems engineer who builds. I notice what doesn't work, trace it back to the assumption nobody questioned, and build the fix instead of complaining about it.
Humankind walked on the moon before it invented the four-wheeled suitcase. That fact has always inspired and frustrated me at the same time. It inspires me because it shows the solution often already exists. It frustrates me because it shows how hard it is to break the status quo. We kept the vertical design instead of turning it horizontal, so now it tips over.
I am equally baffled by pedal trash cans next to toilets, placed as if your foot could reach the lever right after wiping your ass. Or pull handles on push doors. Or faucet handles placed so the water in your hands drips outside the sink. Just a few entries on my list of crimes against humanity.
№ 01 · education
Istanbul Bilgi University2010 - 2014
B.S. Energy Systems Engineering · Istanbul
Thesis on geothermal power systems. Flew to the Stanford Geothermal Workshop to listen, learn and network. The well data was private, so I tracked down Ormat Technologies and got it over breakfast.
№ 02 · work
WattShed2026 - Present
Founder and Engineer · Los Angeles
Software that creates, verifies and pays residential energy efficiency rebates.
Bonjuur2022 - 2025
Founder · NY to LA
A daily housekeeping service built on short visits. Built a 180-person waitlist by cleaning houses myself for six months. First check from Jason Calacanis. Raised $90K. Wound the service down at the end of 2024, pivoted in 2025 to vision AI for in-home service work, then wound the pivot down in December 2025 and returned to energy.
Tulip Haus2020 - 2025
Co-Founder · New York
Artisan home decor from Turkey. Days from a NYC retail lease when COVID hit, pivoted to e-commerce. When a crane hit the first container in Spain and the marine insurer walked away on jurisdiction, I read the primary sources and partially recovered the damages from the port operator directly. B2C failed, survived via B2B.
SpiroHome2019
Business Developer · Ankara
Medical IoT. Oversaw FDA clearance and the Amazon UK and EU launch, coordinating hardware, regulatory, and commercial teams.
Istanbul Chamber of Industry2018 - 2019
Energy and Environment · Istanbul
Helped build a program supplying industrial measurement devices to students for factory energy-efficiency analyses, and supervised its first audit. Learned that bureaucracy takes a full year to launch a basic program.
NULARIS2016 - 2017
Energy Efficiency Engineer · Los Angeles
Audited buildings for the LADWP CLIP incentive program. Replaced about half the lightbulbs at the Jonathan Club myself when crews were short. Most clients saw at least a 30% reduction.
№ 03 · elsewhere
On Deck #ODF17 (2023) · All-In Summit Volunteer (2023) · Angel Squad, Hustle Fund (2021) · Camp Lightbulb nonprofit (2024 - Present)