About
Recovering introvert. Serial entrepreneur. Turning companies AI-native, and choosing love over fear.
From Wiesbaden, Germany. Lived in Los Angeles for years. Now based in Bodrum, Turkey. Helping people and companies thrive has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I'm a systems thinker, obsessed with applying the same frameworks to a business and to a life, and AI just made it the most exciting work I've ever done.
The story
From Wiesbaden to Bodrum, the long way.
Growing up, I attended 14 different schools. Always the new kid. I was pretty lost and incredibly shy. I dropped out at 15, never got a degree, never had a real job. But I found entrepreneurship, and that gave me direction.
In 2009, I moved from Germany to Los Angeles and co-founded MaxCDN. The business grew, but I was still deeply introverted. Making a phone call felt painful. So I forced myself through exposure therapy: Toastmasters twice a week, two networking events a week, talking to everyone even though it was uncomfortable. Over time, it worked.
Then a yoga teacher said something that rewired everything: "Every decision in life, you make out of love or out of fear." I started seeing it everywhere. In sales, in leadership, in how I showed up at home. Most of what I thought were rational decisions were actually fear in disguise. This simple idea was so powerful that I started building my life around it.
Around the same time, my mother passed away from cancer and my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She's fine today. But it shook me. I did the funeral exercise, imagined myself on my deathbed, and asked: did I live a good life? The answer was clear. I wanted more impact. I wanted to find my real purpose.
We had a successful exit with MaxCDN. I started applying the same frameworks I used in business (vision, mission, values, goals, habits) to my personal life. And it worked. I built a portfolio of companies, moved to Bodrum with my wife Yurda and our daughter Emma, and built Dünyam Village, a leadership retreat center in Bodrum. We live there with 10 dogs, horses, donkeys, chickens, and ducks.
Today I'm doing the most exciting work of my life. Over the last few years my team and I rebuilt our own portfolio companies around AI, and it worked so well we turned it into a company: Relote, which helps others forge AI-native companies. We built the products that power it, Context Engine and Daimon, along the way. Love Not Fear is still at the center of how I lead and hire. I still help students find their path, entrepreneurs find alignment, and organizations build culture rooted in purpose. I build all of it in public, and share what I learn as I go.
What I believe
A few things I'm sure of.
Most personal development is backwards. People set goals, build habits, and grind, then wonder why they feel empty when they hit the number. That's because they skipped the foundation. You can't build a system for your life if you don't know what your life is for.
Purpose comes first. Not passion. Purpose. Passion is what you enjoy. Purpose is what you'd do even when it's hard. Once you know that, values become your filter. Vision becomes your direction. Habits become your engine. In that order.
Most fear-based decisions look rational on the surface. Staying in a job you've outgrown because "the market is tough." Not raising prices because "customers might leave." Not having the hard conversation because "the timing isn't right." These feel like logic. They're fear wearing a reasonable mask.
I believe the same thing about technology. AI transformation is real work, not a magic trick, and most of what gets sold is theater: prompting workshops, pilots that never touch a real workflow, advice from people who've never run a company. Done right, AI frees people to do their best work instead of replacing them. The company and the person are inseparable, so I build for both.
I believe you should build companies that make the world slightly less broken, not slightly more optimized. The best leaders are the ones who've done the inner work. You can be ambitious and kind at the same time, and anyone who tells you otherwise is protecting their own cynicism.
Simplicity is a discipline, not a style. The hardest thing in business, and in life, is saying no to good things so you can say yes to the right things.
My values
The five I actually use.
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1. First Things First
Always prioritize health and your loved ones. If it's not a "FUCK YES," it's a "NO."
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2. Own It
Always do your best. Be impeccable with your word. Do not complain or blame. Find solutions.
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3. Create Impact
Enrich the lives of everybody we come in touch with. Don't take things personal. Do not make assumptions.
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4. Unconditional Love
Make decisions out of love, not fear.
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5. Simplicity
Be authentic. Only do and buy things that matter.
Want to define your own? I built a free AI tool that walks you through it. Discover your core values here.
Operating system
The one I run on myself.
I run my own life on the same operating system I bring to a company: vision, mission, values, goals, habits. Here's the top of mine.
Professionally
A world where people and organizations thrive through better systems, technology, and choices rooted in love rather than fear.
Build companies, tools, and frameworks that help individuals and organizations grow, work better, and live more intentionally, by combining technology, practical methodology, and the practice of acting from love rather than fear.
Personally
Live a long, healthy, impactful, happy, and fulfilled life. Stay mentally and physically fit, learning and growing until the end.
As a family
Empower, protect, and lead the people you love.
Provide your family with everything they need to thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally. Remove uncertainty and provide direction.
Who I help
Two ways in.
Founders and leaders
Running a real company? I help you rebuild it around AI, and build a culture where people do their best work out of love, not fear.
Individuals
Building your own life? The Love Not Fear operating system helps you find your purpose, define your values, and build habits that actually stick.