"Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death, and sweet as love."
-Turkish Proverb

The first time I drank Turkish coffee, I was 16. You were supposed to wait, that was the rule. In my family, turning 16 earned you more than a coveted driver's license and the...

I'm the CEO of a company that's based out of Northern Virginia, and my team and I aren't strangers to the local investment and startup community events taking place in our region. We attend every show we can, and we compete on any stage that's willing to have us. Big...

Being in business means more than just selling your services or goods. In 2013, being in business means selling, monitoring, engaging, social sharing, online reviewing, reputation managing, generating, and -- most importantly -- listening. Almost all of these concepts, however, rely on the "-ing" to happen only once a customer...

I have been publishing magazines in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. for 10 years now, and in doing so I've had the opportunity to grow close to many local small and mid-sized business communities.

Much of my work, including as the founder of the newly launched review management site,...

I am the first person to admit that I don't like to admit my flaws or failures when they are pointed out by someone other than myself. I don't like to be criticized. I don't like my flaws pointed out. When they are pointed out, my normally calm demeanor and...

Summers are highly anticipated by me. I begin day dreaming about the heat as soon as the first signs of spring arrive. Summer means we fly! Each year, we find ourselves on a Turkish Airline flight headed directly to Istanbul. As soon as we collect our report cards...

I have always been an entrepreneur. Even in my earliest years, I looked for ways to solve problems and make money doing it. I created puppet theaters at the age of nine and tutored kids older than myself at the age of 11.

For all the ideas I implemented,...

I am a Turkish immigrant, and my name is Hulya Aksu. Not Julio Iglesias, not Julio, not "Me and Julio down by the school yard" and certainly not Sylvia (Try saying, "This is Hulya," really fast. Sometimes you get Sylvia). I grew up being teased about my name, and it...

What separates those who have success, from those who do not? What is the secret ingredient needed to make an impact in the world? Is it resilience, or perhaps bravado, tenacity? Or is it what Ted Leonsis, whom I refer to as the Wizard of D.C. once told me, a...

As a member of an invitation-only technology CEO community in Washington D.C., I get together every month with like-minded individuals to network, listen to expert speakers, and potentially discover my next big co-founder or investor in our area. During last week's summit, the predominant theme was marketing. We listened as...

What does it mean to be a resident of the Metropolitan D.C. region? What defines us as a people and a culture? Most people from other parts of the country seem to have a host of ready answers when it comes to this question. For example, people from California can...

Those of us who pay attention to marketing trends have all probably heard the term "SoLoMo" by now. Companies are encouraged to appeal to a hyper-connected and technologically savvy, new consumer base through the use of social, local and mobile applications. Seems like a no-brainer. What entrepreneur wouldn't want to...