Mert Yılmaz
Strategy & BD Manager
Istanbul,34
Summary
Experienced with strategic planning and execution, delivering innovative approaches to drive business growth. Utilizes market insights to formulate and implement impactful strategies. Knowledge of team leadership and stakeholder management, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
2
2
Languages
Work History
Head of Strategy & Partnership
GoArt Worlds
10.2024 - Current
- As the Web3 Strategy and Partnerships Lead at GoArt, I am responsible for developing and implementing strategies that drive the company’s presence and innovation in the decentralized technology space.
- Developing and executing a comprehensive Web3 strategy to position GoArt as a leader in the blockchain and decentralized technology space.
- Leading cross-functional teams to integrate Web3 elements into GoArt’s ecosystem, including smart contracts, NFTs, and decentralized finance (DeFi).
- Analyzing and identifying market trends, user needs, and potential opportunities to drive innovation and growth in Web3 products.
- Collaborating with technical teams to ensure alignment with Web3 architecture and scalability requirements.
- Overseeing white paper updates and ensuring strategic alignment with current Web3 standards and trends.
- Building and nurturing partnerships within the Web3 community to enhance GoArt’s presence and network.
- Driving adoption strategies to improve user engagement and onboarding for new Web3 features and products.
- Fostered an environment of collaboration between departments, breaking down silos and encouraging cross-functional cooperation toward shared goals.
Head of Business Development & Operations
HelpSteps HSX
09.2023 - 09.2024
- Company Overview: Help Steps is a socially driven company that connects charities, individuals, and corporate sponsors to create everlasting social and environmental impact.
- Fans can provide support to their clubs via Help Steps, with no cost.
- Leading sports clubs in the EU use their Help Steps campaign revenues to support their infrastructure and for social benefit.
- Responsible for:
- Oversee and set budgeting, P&L, and KPIs.
- Drive client acquisition, new user growth, and business development activities.
- Execute marketing initiatives with merchants and strategic partners to drive greater brand awareness.
- Work closely with the product and marketing functions to identify areas of growth, and execute growth plans.
- Proactively monitor the competitor landscape, and work with the product and marketing teams to iterate the overall strategy.
- Making influencer marketing to earn new users, first-time traders.
- Total funding is approximately. 1.5 M+ USD.
- Presented progress reports to executive leadership, sharing insights on performance metrics and growth indicators.
- Aligned departmental objectives with company-wide goals, ensuring a cohesive approach towards growth.
Consulting for BD & Marketing
SnapMuse
- Company Overview: Snapmuse.io is the web3 funding platform of the entertainment industry. It was developed by the founders of Snapmuse.com.
- Unlike traditional funding platforms, Snapmuse.io gives you the opportunity to be part of exciting projects from social media creators and musicians to gaming studios. Fund it! Build it! Reward it! Snapmuse.io enables founders from the entertainment industry such as social media channel owners (YouTubers, Tiktokers), influencers, gaming studios, AI projects etc. a.k.a. “Creators” to mint NFTs of their projects and sell them to retail NFT collectors (a.k.a. “Collectors”).
- We give the Collectors (fans and users) the opportunity to buy exclusive access to their favorite Creator in a gated community and earn special rewards as well as monetary rewards based on RWA such as channel advertisement revenues, game item sale/subscription revenues and music royalties from the reward pool according to their engagement depending on the type of NFT offered by the Creators.
- Making Crypto Influencer Marketing, non-Crypto Influencer Marketing, Paid Ads for user acquisition.
- Collabs with Launchpads, exchanges, ventures.
- Total funding approx. 2 M+ Usd.
- Self-motivated, with a strong sense of personal responsibility.
Head of Business Development & Operations
KuCoin Global
03.2022 - 08.2023
- Company Overview: KuCoin is the top-1 altcoin exchange in the world.
- Responsible for growth marketing across various channels to drive market share growth.
- Developing and executing campaigns across multiple channels and platforms, emphasizing data-driven decision-making.
- Participating in events to grow the network and ahead of potential opportunities and partnerships. e.g. (Istanbul Blockchain Summit, CoinDesk TR Events)
- Closely working with local paid ads to KuCoin’s strategy aims to increase brand awareness and bring in new real sign-ups.
- The partners, e.g., BtcHaber, Doviz.com, CoinDesk.
- Building business relationships with crypto and non-crypto KOLs in the local market for user growth.
- Making influencer marketing to earn new users, first-time traders.
- In a year, approximately 20,000 users joined KuCoin with influencer marketing.
- Strengthened client relationships through consistent communication and timely resolution of issues.
Business Development Manager
Huobi Global
02.2021 - 03.2022
- Responsible for the marketing roadmap and all KPIs of the area.
- Strategic planning built around emerging opportunities and challenges in the industry.
- Ensuring all operations are carried out in an appropriate, cost-effective way.
- Responsible for identifying, qualifying, and securing business opportunities.
- Collaborating with sales and leadership to secure, retain, and grow accounts.
- Making A.M.A. with the partner projects.
- Researching new trend projects about to prime-list presales.
- Making influencer marketing to earn new users, first-time traders.
- In a year, 12,000 users registered to Huobi.
Client Services & Operations Executive
Huobi Global
09.2020 - 02.2021
- Responsible for the customer enquiries, advice and suggestions
- Supporting product issues of all Huobi’s institutional clients. Supported products are mainly
- Huobi’s spot crypto exchange, futures exchange, OTC trading desk, and OTC loan business.
- Analyzing client’s requirement and create business requirement to improve existed product.
- Helping institutional team to better decide the product strategy
- Facilitating communication among different departments
- Building system monitoring tools to evaluate the status of various trading products.
Business Portfolio Manager
ING BANK
06.2019 - 09.2020
- In Turkey, which is built-in, fixed investment and working capital financing of SME's and Big Business to provide their needs.
- Responsible for sales, dissemination and setting up a sustainable financial relationship of ING's products and services to the targeted big business segment customers.(approx. 25-50 Million)
- Making necessary financial analysis for credit offers.
Treasury & OTC MT
Henkel
05.2018 - 06.2019
- Monitoring of customer invoice approvals and analysis of customer data.
- Carrying out the stages of demand, evaluation and finalization of credit risk reports.
- Projects and improvement studies in billing processes.
- Customer relations, customer information, reconciliation and follow-up of related titles.
- Conducting monthly balance reconciliation with customers, organizing the data.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Management Engineering
Bahcesehir University
Istanbul, Turkey 04.2001 -
Skills
Operational efficiency
References
Tansel, Kaya, Managing Partner at the Mindstone Blockchain Labs, Blockchain Engineer at AVAX, tansel.kaya@themindstone.com
Timeline
Head of Strategy & Partnership
GoArt Worlds
10.2024 - Current
Head of Business Development & Operations
HelpSteps HSX
09.2023 - 09.2024
Head of Business Development & Operations
KuCoin Global
03.2022 - 08.2023
Business Development Manager
Huobi Global
02.2021 - 03.2022
Client Services & Operations Executive
Huobi Global
09.2020 - 02.2021
Business Portfolio Manager
ING BANK
06.2019 - 09.2020
Treasury & OTC MT
Henkel
05.2018 - 06.2019
Bachelor of Science - Management Engineering
Bahcesehir University
04.2001 -
Consulting for BD & Marketing
SnapMuse