ANTALYA, Turkey—This is the year that Turkey has to become boring. If 2012 was the year of Turkey hype, the year that Turkish entrepreneurs were feted at startup conferences across Europe and venture capitalists were roaming around Istanbul looking for investments, then 2013 is the year they return to their offices, knuckle down and start to deliver.

In theory Turkey has a lot of what is needed to build a strong startup culture. In 2011, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country of...