THE SECURITY OF THE INTERNET IS IN THE HANDS OF A TURK |
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Abdulhayoğlu studied in Hatay until university and went to college in England after his below average performance at high school. He studied Electrical Engineering at Brandon University and said, “My biggest dream was to be an electrical engineer and now my hobby is actually my job.” THE BIGGEST TURKISH EMPLOYER Having an idealistic approach to Internet security, he offers free anti-virus programs and reaches one million new users each month. Unlike McAfee, Norton, Kaspersky, TrendMicro or Panda that are sold at a certain price, the free Comodo program aims to create a secure online environment for everyone with its slogan, “Creating Trust Online.” Abdulhayoğlu created a business model that he profited from by selling anti-virus programs to corporate entities so that he could offer free programs to individual users. “You can’t promote a safer online environment if you sell $60 antivirus programs to users who have $300 computers. It sounds like selling a car and then asking for $3000 a year to change its oil,” said Abdulhayoğlu. He said his company’s yearly 50% growth was a unique success in the online market and they planned to grow further by acquiring various European firms that specialize in Internet security. Comodo does not have an office in Turkey but operates in Romania, which has one of the most rapidly-expanding Central European economies. Married with two children, Abdulhayoğlu and his wife are expecting their third child. He loves football and supports Arsenal in England and Besiktaş in Turkey. He was chosen as “The Enterpreneur of the Year” by Ernst&Young in 2008 and is not interested in selling his company. According to him, success depends on one’s decision to give up and move on when necessary. His advice to young people who would like to start their own online business is to be insistent on their objectives and never give up. He explains why the company headquarter is in New Jersey, rather than Silicon Valley, based on two reasons: “First, companies that are based in Silicon Valley are in need of the technology produced there. However we produce our own technology. Second, New York is the center of the world right now. But you can’t have such a beautiful view in New York. So we ended up in New Jersey.”
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