Causa et Effectus: The Entrepreneur’s Equation

New on the GoGlobal Blog — Causa et Effectus: The Entrepreneur’s Equation. Esra Talu reflects on how every entrepreneurial decision sets powerful causes in motion, shaping outcomes that ripple across industries, ecosystems, and communities.

When I was a student at my French high school, I briefly studied Latin. Most of the vocabulary faded with time, but one phrase stayed with me: causa et effectus — cause and effect.

It struck me even then that these two simple words describe not only science and logic, but also life itself. Decades later, as an entrepreneur and advisor, I see how deeply causa et effectus defines the journey of building companies, shaping ecosystems, and taking risks in uncertain markets.

Cause (Causa): The Decisions We Make

In entrepreneurship, “cause” is never abstract. It’s the vision to imagine something new, the courage to act when no roadmap exists, and the resilience to keep moving when others doubt.

When I co-founded Deppo in Turkey in the late 1990s, the “cause” was simple yet bold: to pioneer e-commerce in a market that wasn’t yet ready. Later, with GoGlobal, the cause became more expansive — helping founders from diverse geographies access global capital, networks, and opportunities. Every decision we make as entrepreneurs — from hiring the first team member to pitching the first investor — sets in motion a cause that will ripple outward.

Entrepreneurship isn’t about controlling outcomes — it’s about owning the causes: vision, courage, and resilience. The effects will follow.

Effect (Effectus): The Ripples We Create

Effects are not always predictable, nor are they always immediate. Sometimes the effect is growth, traction, and success. Other times, it’s failure, lessons learned, and a pivot.

But the true beauty of entrepreneurship is that the effects extend far beyond the founder. A startup can reshape an industry, inspire other founders, or even influence cultural and policy change. The chain of effects is often exponential, reminding us that entrepreneurship is both a personal and collective endeavor.

Every decision we make as founders sets a ripple in motion — one that can transform industries, inspire new ideas, and shape the future of entire ecosystems.

The Chain of Entrepreneurship

Unlike in physics, cause does not always guarantee effect. Markets shift, global crises intervene, and serendipity often plays its hand. Yet, entrepreneurship thrives precisely in this uncertainty.

The “cause” may be a founder’s vision, but the “effect” is shared — by employees, customers, investors, and even entire ecosystems. Entrepreneurship is a living dialogue between what we choose to do and how the world responds.

The ‘cause’ may begin with a founder’s vision, but the ‘effect’ is shared by employees, customers, investors, and communities. Entrepreneurship is a living dialogue between what we create and how the world responds.

A Modern Twist

In today’s era of AI, rapid globalization — and paradoxically, deglobalization — the chain of cause and effect is accelerating. Founders must not only consider immediate outcomes, but also anticipate the second-order consequences.

A decision about product design might spark debates on data privacy. A choice to scale internationally might contribute to shifts in capital flows between regions. The effects are magnified, and so is the responsibility of founders to act with vision and integrity.

In today’s fast-changing world, founders must think beyond immediate results and anticipate second-order consequences — because every cause has an effect far greater than we imagine.

Closing Reflection

Entrepreneurship is not about controlling effects, but about owning causes.

That Latin phrase reminds me daily: our role as entrepreneurs is to set meaningful causes in motion — with courage, clarity, and vision. The effects, while uncertain, will follow. And when done with intention, they can transform not only our companies, but the world around us.