Ersin Üstün
Let's build the Deep Tech ecosystem Europe needs.
„Diversity is not an option. It's an opportunity.”
Ersin Üstün
About
Ersin Üstün is Managing Director of BRYCK Startup Alliance and the ecosystem builder behind one of Germany’s ten nationally designated Startup Factories.
His mission: shaping the conditions for Europe’s deep tech future. His focus: building the infrastructure, mindset, and alliances needed to turn transformative technologies into economic strength.
Raised as the son of a Turkish coal miner in the Ruhr region, Ersin embodies the transformation from industrial past to technological future.
With over 15 years of experience across consulting, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem building, he has founded multiple companies, worked with leading corporates at EY, and helped shape one of Europe’s most ambitious deep tech platforms at BRYCK.
Ersin Üstün on stage
Ersin turns his own transformation into a vision for others — combining lived experience with system-level thinking and the belief that diversity drives competitive advantage.
As a startup mentor and speaker at leading innovation events such as DIGITAL X, VivaTech and Slush, he shares practical insights on what it takes to build resilient deep tech ecosystems and companies that last.
Topics & perspectives
From fragmentation to integration
For Ersin, Europe does not lack talent, research or industrial strength. It lacks integration. Deep Tech only scales when founders, industry, capital, policymakers and institutions work together as one system with the ambition to build not to administrate.
Entrepreneurship as Responsibility
Building companies is not a lifestyle choice, but a long-term commitment. Ersin advocates for a responsibility-driven founder mindset – built on real experience, hard decisions, and the courage to act under uncertainty.
Diversity as a competitive advantage
For Ersin Üstün, diversity is not a narrative, but an advantage. More perspectives, broader talent, and real inclusion make ecosystems stronger, more resilient, and more competitive.
Background
Ersin Üstün brings over 15 years of experience across consulting, startup ecosystems, and technology transformation. He has advised global corporations, built and led startup initiatives in one of Europe’s key post-industrial regions, and co-founded his own ventures. What defines his work: connecting the right people to build something new.
Roles and positions:
- Since 2025: Managing Director, BRYCK Startup Alliance
- Since 2021: Member of the Executive Board, BRYCK
- Since 2021: Community Member, 2hearts
- 2019-2021: Principal, etventure
- 2019-2021: Project Manager, Gründerallianz Ruhr
- 2014-2019: Senior Manager - Advisory Services, EY
- 2013-2014: Lead Consultant - Business Development, thyssenkrupp
- 2006-2012: Manager - Advisory Services, Ernst & Young (EY)