# Alpay Koralturk

> Alpay Koralturk is a New York-based Turkish entrepreneur, the founder and former CEO of furniture resale marketplace Kaiyo, and a co-founder of Gram Games. A Wesleyan graduate with a background in finance and technology, he built Kaiyo around managed pickup, cleaning, photography, storage and delivery. He left the company in April 2024, before its reported wind-down that August.

- **Role:** Founder and former CEO at Kaiyo
- **Organizations:** Kaiyo (formerly Furnishare), Gram Games, Moda Operandi, J.P. Morgan
- **Nationality:** Turkish
- **Education:** Robert College, Istanbul, Triple major in mathematics, economics and computer science, Wesleyan University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Gram Games, which Zynga acquired for $250 million in 2018, after his listed operating tenure there., Built Kaiyo into a furniture resale operation serving multiple U.S. metropolitan areas., Named one of Apartment Therapy’s Design Changemakers for 2022.

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Graduated from Wesleyan University and began working at J.P. Morgan on derivative products.
- **2012** — Worked in strategy at Moda Operandi; co-founded Gram Games.
- **2012-2014** — Co-founder and CEO of Gram Games, according to his Crunchbase work history.
- **2014** — Founded the venture that became Kaiyo, initially named Furnishare.
- **2015** — Launched Furnishare as a furniture rental service.
- **2019** — Furnishare relaunched as Kaiyo; the new identity was developed with Pentagram.
- **2020** — Kaiyo expanded to Philadelphia.
- **2021** — Kaiyo raised a $5 million Series A and expanded to Washington, D.C.
- **2022** — Introduced Instant Offer; announced a $36 million Series B comprising equity and debt, led by Edison Partners, to support expansion including California.
- **2024-04** — Left Kaiyo, handing leadership to early investor and executive Haluk Emiroglu and announcing time with family before deciding on a new venture.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Gram Games, which Zynga acquired for $250 million in 2018, after his listed operating tenure there.
- Built Kaiyo into a furniture resale operation serving multiple U.S. metropolitan areas.
- Named one of Apartment Therapy’s Design Changemakers for 2022.
- Led Kaiyo during its 2021 $5 million Series A and 2022 $36 million equity-and-debt Series B financing.

## Latest updates

- **2024-04** — Koralturk left Kaiyo; his public departure post announced a handover to Haluk Emiroglu and a family break before considering another venture.
- **2024-08** — After Koralturk’s departure, Kaiyo’s wind-down was reported amid complaints about unpaid seller proceeds; this is company context rather than a new personal role.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alpaykoralturk

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alpay-koralturk
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26