---
title: "Mert Erbil and early-stage startups"
url: "https://merterbil.com/startups/"
---

# Startups

Mert Erbil works with early-stage startups on user-facing products as a product and experience advisor, and is open to new advisory roles and small early-stage investments.

Next to my day job, I work with early-stage startups, mostly on user-facing products. I've worked in startups myself, I'm actively advising one right now, and I've also invested in one.

The part I help with is the product and experience side. So that means things like product strategy, discovery, UX direction, and the product foundations a young team needs to build on.

I'm open to new product and experience advisory roles, and to small early-stage investments in user-facing products. If you're building something like that, write to me at [hi@merterbil.com](mailto:hi@merterbil.com) with a few lines about what you're building, or reach out on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/merterbil).

## Advising

- [advising after5](https://merterbil.com/startups/after5/) (advising, 2025–now, After5): Advising the cofounders of After5, an IRL friendship platform for ambitious women, on product strategy, UX direction and the way they build.

## With founders

- [how apps communicate with users, at trmnl4](https://merterbil.com/talks/trmnl4-app-communication/) (workshop, 2026-05, TRMNL4, Traction Builder cohort): A workshop for consumer tech founders at TRMNL4 on notification design, built on a 2016 Google I/O ethnographic study on attention.