Effectively communicating the individuality of one’s business can be quite formidable. A marketing consultancy may sound a tad impersonal at first; how can a stranger effectively express what a business finds challenging themselves? Yet from the moment you meet, Ayşe Serra Saygılı puts any such concerns to rest – reassuring you with a genuinely positive attitude that makes any challenge seem conquerable with the right ideas. Easily approachable, it quickly becomes clear that Ayşe Serra’s motivations are earnestly founded in a desire to help others better themselves and explore new avenues of reaching their potential. With a significant background in the sector that includes working with many internationally renowned brands, and an upbeat entrepreneurial belief in herself as well as the landscape of Turkey’s business world, it’s no surprise that she set on her own course in founding SEED MC. The marketing and consultancy brand reflects Ayşe Serra’s own professional journey in its attention to ideation and innovation coaching, as well as her personal ethos in their approach to sharing content with their community that fosters self-improvement and motivation, while helping prospective clients realize possible solutions to the obstacles they face. We too have found our own inspiration through her project (and recommend their newsletter if you happen to speak a bit of Turkish), and confidently look forward to the future of growth this young company promises.
We took some time to speak with Ayşe Serra on her natural progression to marketing and consultancy with an emphasis on innovation, the importance of encouraging creativity alongside productivity, the risks and rewards of forging your own path, the potential of SEED MC in unlocking new opportunities for businesses, and what’s next on the horizon for this promising entrepreneur.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
So my name is Ayşe Serra, but everyone calls me Serra. Ayşe comes from my grandmother, who took it from her grandmother, so there’s a legacy there. I have one sister who I grew up with and she’s my best friend. I’m very family oriented and love my family, and they always come first. We have a really strong relationship which gives me strength in pursuing the things I do.
People see me as very positive and sort of a social butterfly. I’m a risk taker actually, which is why I am doing what I am doing today. I grew up in Istanbul and was fortune enough to learn English in school. Then for university, I attended Kadir Has and studied cinema there. I did an exchange program on media production which took me to Holland. Media production included many things in media from the journalism side and also media production itself, like post production and so on.
During university, I also started to work for Red Bull. I was in the Wings Team, maybe you’ve seen them, they drive the Mini Coopers and give out free samples to people. I really fell in love with the company and I ended up becoming a team leader, as I was really dedicated and loved my team and work. In my last year of university, they offered me an internship in a program where you also focus on communication and production for the company. So I became more involved in Red Bull through this and worked there for a year. After a year, in 2012, I considered quitting, but they offered me an assistant brand manager position. It was my first real job after having graduated, working in the brand marketing department. They also put me in a position of innovation leadership which sent me off to workshops and trainings with companies like ?WhatIf! – one of the biggest innovation companies in London – and Genius Box. So I received training and consultation to be able to run the ideation and innovation processes in Red Bull Turkey.
Could you elaborate a bit on what that might include?
I was running innovation processes for them. Our focus was finding new and creative ideas to help solve their business problems. I did it for six years with them. I really started to fall for this type of work, as I enjoy being creative and productive while being involved in such processes. I also love public speaking and engaging with others and giving them courage. I realized there’s potential in Turkey to be able to do an innovation business here as well. So I started to connect with these companies that I had been working with and said I’d like to do this type of company here in Turkey and asked for them to support me.
At what point did you transition into your own project?
So in 2017, after eight years at Red Bull and six years in innovation coaching, I quit my position there and I decided to start my own innovation company – SEED MC.
My vision has always been based on the fact I believe in helping people and showing them their potential. Creativity is key for me. I love when people tell me before a workshop about how not creative they are. At the end of the workshop they end up being quite creative. There are methodologies to use to help open your mind and take out what you have, in a spontaneous way. Education, society, and all these other things train us to put up walls to try and be the perfect person. So I love working with these methods to take down those walls and open their minds.
Now, SEED MC, stands for having people trust themselves and their potential inside as creative human beings. Also, we consult companies to think creatively in regards to what their business problems are. We will go there and discover their biggest problem that stops their growth, and then we work together on those issues. So SEED MC actually started as an innovation company.
Along the way, as we were working with people in discussion innovation and creative thinking in business, we realized that there is still a gap in the potential of Turkey in marketing strategies. So something like 30% of our business is to help smaller companies who might not have a marketing team yet, but might not know how to create or grow a brand image.
Why did you choose that name?
MC stands for Marketing Consultancy – which includes aspects like innovation and corporate identity. Seed represents the beginning of everything, when you need to have a vision to be able to grow. We like to think of it as you being the brand, and we are seeding together today, and get stronger together.
Could you tell us a bit about your team?
To be able to survive the economic system in Turkey, you can’t promise something that is sustained longer than a month. We’re not payrolled, but rather, we are a network or community much like here at ATÖLYE. When we have a client or project, according to the budget, we involve people from this network who can best address these needs. If it’s a small project like designing a logo, we will work with a smaller team. If it’s a big client that involves research and a team for creatives, development, and so on, then we go with a bigger team. We get bigger and smaller according to what’s needed.
What is your role?
Actually, I am involved in pretty much everything. I also want to stand one step behind and always be able to see the bigger picture. I am in the head position where I work with clients, connect them to the team, and try to be involved more on the consumer insight side as I love data and love seeing people’s motivations, fears, and what they really need. The thing is, if you ask the right questions, it’s easy to find the solutions. The right question is hidden inside and I love to be involved with that, and with clients and their problems mostly.
How does ATÖLYE fit in?
Actually, when I was working for a company, I had hoped to find a place where I could run my innovation sessions. When I first entered, I actually hesitated about what I was doing with my life. I could see people super dedicated to what they are doing and what they own – their own businesses. Everyone was working hard and it was refreshing. It was inspirational for me.
I think I kept it inside me somewhere. Then, years later, I came here to meet with TOYI for a client’s partnership meeting. When I came again, I felt the same feeling. I had a talk with Atilim, and fell in love with the space, the networking opportunities, and how I might fit in.
Before I came here, it was hard for me to be able to tell people what am I doing. I would often have to start from scratch with, “What is innovation?” and what we’re doing and how we fit in with a business. Here though, people have already digested what I am doing, which provides an opportunity to be able to add on to what I know about my own business as well. I’ve ended up working with most of the people here in my own projects and still do.
Could you tell us a bit about how your clients usually find you?
Throughout our channels, social media, email marketing, and so on – I am not trying to sell myself and my content. I’m trying to help people throughout my content, so my first priority is helping people and when they see our content, they often want to talk to me because they see the opportunities here to grow their own businesses as well. This is one of the reasons we create our own content. When they understand what we’re doing in innovation coaching and want to hear more about it, they reach out. We’ve been privileged to work with companies such as Eczacıbaşı, Red Bull, and Touche, and even have partnerships in Mexico with three hotels and two community groups there.
From our perspective, as we are human centered, when we are trying to find a solution for clients we are also trying to find a solution for people as well. When we work for brands we are working for people as well. There should be a need to be addressed, and throughout the brand, we are finding solutions for their needs as well. At the end of every project, I feel like we’ve solved one problem for human beings here, and can tell look at what’s next.
Anything planned for the future?
For Turkey, I have a vision because we have huge potential here. There is still much development to be had regarding the economy and with business approaches and so on. There might be a need for innovation but we’re still not at our full potential yet. I want to be among the greatest in Turkey as an innovation company, because I want to help businesses and help people meet their needs. I don’t want to add services, I just want to help people individually and help them understand how creative they can be, as well as companies in seeing the creative ideas they can come up with. I love competition and where there’s competition there is growth. I really love my country and I want Turkey to grow faster and better. Our minds are crazy and if we can use it in a good way, I can help people see their potential.
Any places in Istanbul you’d like to recommend for foreigners to check out?
I’m usually looking for a place where you think it’s really a great spot and needs to be hyped more, but it shouldn’t be crowded. I like trendsetter places that I can discover before everyone. That’s part of the reason I live in the suburbs. So what I’d recommend for brunch, although it’s a bit more high end, is Kemer Country Club, where they can be around nature in a really nice environment, with a delicious brunch and a good view.
To keep up with Ayşe Serra and her work, be sure to visit the official page for SEED MC and sign up for their newsletter there. You can also follow via Instagram.
ATÖLYE Spotlight is our series on the inspiring community members of Istanbul’s most creative space.
All images courtesy of the interviewee.
