Mehmet Aca

AI Product & Community Builder | Built 300K+ Tech Communities | Tech Entrepreneur | ex-Turkcell

Saint Julian's, Malta

About

I build communities, develop products and help people adapt to the future of technology — with a strong focus on AI. In 2003, I founded CETURK, one of Turkey’s earliest and most influential tech communities — growing it to 30,000+ members across 56 universities, at a time when developer communities were still very new. Later at Turkcell, I helped expand the Geleceği Yazanlar program to 270,000+ developers, delivering workshops in 81 cities and 105 universities, and leading award-winning programs such as Geleceği Yazan Kadınlar, empowering thousands of women to enter technology with global recognition. In 2019, I dedicated a full year to advancing my knowledge in Artificial Intelligence, completing intensive programs with Udacity and Coursera — not driven by hype, but by a deep belief that AI would fundamentally reshape how products, education and communities evolve. Today, I continue to build AI-led products and future-ready learning ecosystems, bringing together technology, collaboration and meaningful human impact.

Experience

  • Founder @ Artint at Self-employed
    Nov 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 8 mos

    Artint is a future-focused initiative with the mission to reshape the future through AI — by building products, empowering people, and accelerating adoption through community. What I do at Artint: - Developing AI-powered mobile applications as part of a role-model founder team - Leading AI learning, discovery and product innovation processes - Organizing AI-driven workshops, meetups and hackathons with an active community mindset - Building a global ecosystem where AI is learned, applied and co-created at scale

  • Co-Founder & Product Strategy & Tech Lead | Dimidi & Supero at Zela Digital
    Nov 2021 - Nov 2022 · 1 yr 1 mo

    Led product and technology development across two ventures under Zela Digital: – Dimidi — a social dining mobile app focused on experience-driven community connections – Supero — an EdTech initiative supporting digital learning experiences What I did: – Co-led product strategy and end-to-end development (50% strategy / 50% technical leadership) – Architected backend infrastructure and guided mobile development teams throughout execution – Coordinated teams, aligned priorities and shaped user experience decisions – Grew as an entrepreneur — strengthening my people leadership and team-building skills, making confident decisions in uncertain environments, turning ideas into real, value-driven products, building strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, and developing a strong strategic vision and opportunity-driven mindset.

  • Turkcell (On-site)
    • Turkcell Academy Senior Product Manager — Women in Tech & Social Impact Programs
      Feb 2017 - Oct 2021 · 4 yrs 9 mos

      Led the award-winning “Geleceği Yazan Kadınlar” initiative, launched in partnership with TOBB and under the patronage of the Turkish Presidency — empowering thousands of women to enter the technology industry. Key highlights: – Designed and led a national-scale talent program that received global recognition (GSMA Women4Tech Award) – Enabled 3,000+ women to receive hands-on software and entrepreneurship training – Built a community-driven sustainability model — where previous learners returned as volunteer instructors – Contributed directly to over 200 women entering engineering careers at Turkcell – Represented Turkcell as a Women in Tech program leader on national and international platforms

    • Senior Product Manager — Developer Ecosystem & Community Growth
      Jul 2013 - Feb 2017 · 3 yrs 8 mos

      Worked as the technical product manager of the Geleceği Yazanlar platform while building one of Turkey’s largest mobile developer ecosystems. Key highlights: – Managed the end-to-end product strategy and development of the Geleceği Yazanlar learning platform – Led developer events, workshops and hackathons across 81 cities and 105 universities – Personally traveled over 125,000 km to train students and young developers across Türkiye and Northern Cyprus – Played a key role in accelerating the national talent pipeline by inspiring thousands to begin careers in mobile software development

  • Co-Founder | Mobile App Developer & Tech Trainer at Mobil Akademi
    Sep 2011 - Jul 2013 · 1 yr 11 mos

    Co-founded one of Türkiye’s earliest mobile software education & consulting initiatives, delivering hands-on training and product development for students, professionals and enterprise clients during the early rise of the mobile ecosystem. – Designed and delivered mobile app development programs across iOS, Android and .NET – Provided technical consulting and product guidance to enterprises building their first mobile solutions – Actively contributed to the emerging mobile developer ecosystem in Türkiye, inspiring the next generation of developers – Strengthened my entrepreneurial leadership by combining technology expertise, community impact and commercial execution in a single venture

  • Founder & Tech Community Builder at Ceturk.com
    Jan 2003 - Jul 2013 · 10 yrs 7 mos

    Founded Türkiye’s first large-scale modern tech community, bringing together 30,000+ developers, engineers and technology enthusiasts long before community-building became mainstream. – Built and led a pioneering platform offering educational content, technical forums and nationwide knowledge-sharing – Organized seminars, workshops and university events across 56+ campuses, partnering with major tech companies – Helped shape early developer career pipelines by enabling mentorship, peer learning and professional networking opportunities – Recognized as one of Türkiye’s most influential independent tech communities of its era, inspiring many future technology leaders and trainers