Forging the Future: Kaan
“I want to do things that have never been done before,” Kaan Goksal says. He is already building that legacy.
Even as a high school student, Kaan was a leader of his country’s maker movement. It makes sense. As an 8th grader, he was already building his own aerial drones. Instead of going on vacation, he bought a 3D printer and put it in his family’s cellar. He launched one of Turkey’s first ever makers clubs, inspiring his classmates and younger children to start building, creating, and inventing.
He led by example. With three of his high school classmates, Kaan co-founded Connecthing, an Internet of things startup based on the ideas to create connected homes and save consumers on energy costs. Within a year, his company had received a $1.6 million investment offer. Kaan also started working as a research and development specialist for a robotics company in his home city of Istanbul.
When it came time to choose a university, Kaan wanted to develop his leadership.
“I believe there is room for me to contribute and take part at Georgia Tech,” he explains.
Kaan is already contributing by volunteering at local schools. He’s been helping middle school students in Atlanta learn to build their own drones, much like he used to do at their age.
In the meantime, he plans to work towards launching another startup and will be taking advantage of the Startup Lab course in his second year.
“I want to push my limits as much as I can,” Kaan says.
< PREVIOUS: JON • NEXT: ROSALEE >
F O R G I N G T H E F U T U R E S T O R I E S
