Onur Alp Soner is the co-founder and CEO of Countly, a digital analytics and in-app engagement platform. With a strong background as a self-starter technologist, Onur built Countly from scratch to help companies have greater control over how they understand and interact with their users. His goal has always been to create tools that respect user privacy while enabling businesses to innovate quickly. Under his guidance, Countly has grown into a trusted platform for enterprises around the world that want to put privacy at the heart of their growth strategies.

In this episode, Onur talks about the journey that led him to create Countly out of frustration with the privacy issues common in early mobile analytics tools. He explains why privacy should be seen as an ethical responsibility rather than simply a checkbox, emphasizing transparency and giving users real control over their data. Onur also discusses how trust plays a vital role in creating personalized experiences and why open source software is key to transparency and security in analytics. He shares his perspective on how companies should approach data for AI applications thoughtfully, focusing on clean, accessible data rather than chasing quick tech fixes. Finally, Onur reflects on the challenges of bootstrapping a company centered on privacy, highlighting the importance of patience and staying mission-driven even when the topic doesn’t seem glamorous to investors.