Entrepreneurship, Networking & Resilience: Startup Lessons from VC and Founding

In this episode, I am joined by Ilgin Kolgelli a final-year International Economics and Management student at Bocconi University. Starting off in finance, Ilgın quickly realised that the world of banking and spreadsheets wasn’t where her passion lay. Instead, she found her spark in the fast-paced, dynamic environment of venture capital and it didn’t take long before she made the leap from analysing startups to building one of her own. 

Now the Co-Founder and CFO of SALP, a startup that leverages AI to provide more accurate, accessible startup valuations, Ilgın is on a mission to make the early-stage investing landscape more transparent and data-driven. In our conversation, she reflects on the challenges of building a startup while still in university, including the steep learning curves, the rejections, and the pressure of working across multiple time zones and geographies. 

Ilgın also shares how she built her network through online communities, Slack channels, and cold LinkedIn outreach. She talks about navigating risk as someone who doesn't consider herself naturally risk-tolerant, and how being a student actually gave her the freedom to experiment, fail, and grow without the high stakes of full-time entrepreneurship.

If you’ve ever thought about starting something but felt held back by fear, uncertainty, or a lack of experience, this episode will give you both the insight and the encouragement to take that next step. It’s a real, honest look at what it means to build something from the ground up.