Good People of vitruta: Burç Tanır

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello everyone! I was born in Antalya in 1989. After completing my pre-university education in my beloved Antalya, I moved to Istanbul to study Industrial Engineering at Boğaziçi University. I’ve been here ever since. During my school years, I went back and forth between academic career plans and corporate life, but after graduation, I started working with a few friends on a mobile app idea and became an entrepreneur. Although we didn’t manage to take that idea to the dream point we envisioned, I learned a lot during that process. What I learned then, and what I continue to learn, led me to work at Prisync for the past 5 years. At Prisync, we currently provide technology sales to hundreds of companies in over 50 countries, and we are growing at a pace we really enjoy. Beyond work, I have a wonderful 2.5-year marriage to my wife, Burçin. In the free time I have left (which doesn’t come naturally, I have to make an effort to create it), I enjoy spending time with sports, food, and the arts.

What’s a fun day in Istanbul for you? What do you do?
For me, the most important ingredient for a fun day anywhere in the world is the sun. The sun we all know… This is probably the most distinct feature of my Mediterranean nature. So, in Istanbul, I love to walk around the historic peninsula, especially on a sunny spring day. By "Sunday" I mean the tranquility of the streets, where many shops are closed and the gray of the shutters sets a calm backdrop. When combined with the sunny weather, you can’t help but feel like you’re in an Orhan Pamuk novel. I really enjoy that feeling. While wandering around those streets, I sometimes end up having more than one lunch. First, I’ll start with a soup… Then, I’ll go for a dish of eggplant moussaka with pastry at Konyalı, and finish it off with a couple of skewers of cağ kebab at Şehzade. I don’t count dessert as a meal.

What’s your idea of an ideal vacation? What are the places you’ve liked the most so far, and do you have any advice for us?
Despite my Mediterranean roots, the best vacation I’ve had so far was actually a trip to the village of Vals in Switzerland, which I took with my wife Burçin for her birthday two years ago. It was a vacation where we spent a few days hiking in pristine mountains, imagining ourselves as Heidi, and most importantly, bathing in various thermal waters at Therme Vals, designed by the reclusive architect Peter Zumthor. For those seeking inspiration, I recommend checking out Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth for a glimpse of the ambiance we experienced. If anyone happens to visit, after starting with the thermal baths, you can gradually climb the mountain and reach a mountain restaurant at the top. There’s a small village there, and the restaurant serves as the local hangout. The ginger carrot soup we had there, after the cold, is something we’ll never forget. In fact, we reverse-engineered the recipe and now make it at home on winter days, enjoying it just as much.

What’s a must-have item when you’re packing for a trip? What do you bring with you?
I’m someone who feels cold easily, so Switzerland, snow, and such mean I need a rather comprehensive packing list. On the other hand, since I wear the thick clothes on the plane, Burçin and I managed to fit everything into one suitcase for just a few days. For example, I never forget to bring a nice beanie. When hiking in the mountains or visiting other villages, my trusty Kanken backpack was of course with me. As for non-clothing items, depending on my mood, I’d pick a book, the Monocle magazine for that month, and that week’s Economist to fit in my Kanken. But to be honest, in that environment, you get so immersed in the mountains, the snow, and the experience itself that you don’t really think about reading or writing; you just want to live in the moment and be grateful for it.

Do you have any recent book, music, or film recommendations?
When it comes to music, I’m a bit old-fashioned. I don’t think I have the bandwidth to keep up with new things. Honestly, it’s something that makes me a little sad. I keep going back to the same genres and artists I’ve listened to for the past ten years. As for books, I’ve been leaning more towards non-fiction recently, after I may have overindulged in fiction for a while. Most of what I read tends to be work-focused, which might be a bit boring for some.
So, let me recommend a film instead. Recently, I watched Little Joe at my favorite cinema in Istanbul, SineBu (a little excuse to visit Boğaziçi University as well). The quality of the film itself wasn’t what impacted me most—it was the questions and thoughts it triggered. It’s a science fiction film where the "fiction" part starts to fade away into the background, focusing instead on genetics. The film filled me with a mix of excitement, fear, and anxiety about both the present and the future. If you're wondering why that would make me recommend it, I guess it’s because it’s a film that provokes a lot of thought.

There are also platforms that are part of everyone's life these days, like Netflix, YouTube, audiobooks, and podcast apps... Which ones are part of your life, and can you share any of your favorite channels, podcast series, or your top shows/documentaries?
I only started using a smartphone a few months ago, so I’m a bit behind on this question. On the YouTube side, as a company, we have a technology-focused video channel called Prisync Labs, which is managed by my partner Samet and the team. Here, we share what we know—or have learned by researching—on a variety of topics for people interested in technology, at different levels of depth. My favorite YouTube channel, unsurprisingly, is Prisync Labs.

If we move more towards the home front, we’ve embraced the wonders of smart TV, and I’d say Netflix is our favorite platform at home. As for my favorite Netflix series, I’d probably go with Suits. Although I know from our own lawyers and lawyer friends that the legal world isn’t exactly as it’s portrayed in the show, the depiction of the New York white-collar lawyer life in Suits is captivating and has its own kind of nirvana.