Lima Ventures

Kurthan Tarakçıoğlu, the firm's founder and Managing Partner, leads all investment decisions. Tarakçıoğlu draws on his own experience as a technical founder to evaluate founding teams, and the firm's compact structure means there is no multi-layer investment committee — decisions typically rest with Tarakçıoğlu in consultation with the venture partners who sourced the opportunity.

Lima's primary focus is on startups founded in Turkey, but the firm encourages portfolio companies to incorporate holding structures in Delaware or the UK when pursuing international expansion. The fund invests in teams where the core engineering talent is based in Turkey, regardless of the legal domicile of the entity, and it co-invests alongside European and US funds in later rounds.

Lima operates its own seed accelerator that runs cohorts of early-stage technical founders through a structured three-month program. The accelerator functions as both a pipeline for the fund and a way to pressure-test founder execution before committing first-check capital. This dual-track model is rare in Istanbul, where most accelerators are university-affiliated or government-subsidized rather than directly connected to a venture fund.

Lima stays away from capital-intensive sectors that require heavy physical infrastructure, such as hardware manufacturing, deep biotech, and clean energy generation. The firm also avoids business models heavily dependent on Turkish domestic consumer spending, preferring startups that can address regional or global markets from day one.

The firm sources primarily through its own accelerator program, direct referrals from its network of venture partners who are active operators in the Istanbul tech ecosystem, and inbound from technical founders who know Tarakçıoğlu's track record. Lima does not rely on agent-driven origination or broker-led deal flow, which gives it an advantage in accessing founders before they engage with larger international funds.