Who is the founder of XNation Brand?

Hi there, I am Kivanc Gultekin, the founder of the XNation brand. 

I am also an engineer, an entrepreneur, marketing and education enthusiast, a lifetime learner, innovation lover, independence seeker, an athlete, an instructor, an immigrant, a solution seeker, poised, compassionate, determined, and an adventurous person who is seeking greater things in life. 

And, this is my short story of me becoming the version of myself today.

From the early ages, I had interest in sales as I remember, at the age of 8 or 9, I was using an excel sheet to place all the cars in the parking lot of our condo, putting random prices on them, and with my friend, we were making fake calls to each other to sell these cars. I also have early memories of selling my toys, and playing cards to my friends and making a bit of money to buy some chips and ice cream, of course.

However, I am not coming from a family of sales people nor entrepreneurs. Most of the people in my family were teachers. That’s why my environment separated me from the sales and took me to the path of math, physics and science. I was a hard working person for most of my educational life. I was studying hard, including the summer breaks, where my friends were spending their time playing outside. I don’t mean that I was always at home and studying. No. Once I was done with my early morning routines, I was out to play with them. I loved spending time outside, especially playing soccer.

As my life was led towards an engineering career, since I was good at math and science, I continued my education in a private high school with a scholarship and after that I got accepted to today’s one of the most successful schools in Turkey, Izmir Institute of Technology for my Bachelor’s in Electronics and Communications Engineering. However, during my early university times, with an introduction to the startup world, my entrepreneurial journey took over and while I was learning about engineering, I also started to learn about software development, marketing, business, and most importantly entrepreneurship. 

While I was going to startup events, meeting with investors, traveling to different cities on the weekends for business, I was also continuing my engineering studies on the side. At that time, I knew that I was not going to continue my engineering career but instead, I decided that I was going to combine it with business and marketing. That’s why I put my efforts into growing myself in a variety of disciplines and taking classes from other departments. 

After I graduated from university, I worked in different jobs, including web development, digital marketing, product sales, and before moving to Canada, I was a kitesurfing instructor in the summer season. I believe all these experiences taught something and brought me one step closer to what I will be doing today. I was there trying new things, and learning disciplines, industries every day.

From the moment I came to Canada, my journey took a different leap. First, I studied Global Business Management in one of the most successful public colleges in Canada which is Conestoga College. And towards the end of my studies, I was introduced to a new set of opportunities in this country. My prior knowledge and experience, brought me to work on a company called SubmitApp, and from the first days of this company, I was privileged to be part of a three year journey where I eventually became the CEO for the company. While I had almost no idea about international education when I first started, I learnt a lot during my time in this company by engaging many other leaders in the industry, traveling to many countries, and taking responsibilities on the challenges the entrepreneurial lifestyle brings.

Today, I am in a new chapter of my life, where I founded my own company XNation where I am on a mission to help high schools, colleges and universities to bring their names, offerings, and opportunities to the fingertips of the people all over the world, starting with Canada. I am excited about what this new journey will bring with its challenges and achievements to take the XNation brand to higher places and make it known by many people. Because this way I can help more people and create more opportunities for others to come and do the same one day.

Thank you for listening to my story and investing your time in getting to know me. I hope it inspires the ones who are there to create great things in life. If this story connected with you, let me know and let’s connect. I would love to know you and your story as well. 

Best of luck on your journey!