Public Lecture: Startup Management and Investment in Armenia by Benivo (formerly FlatClub)

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YEREVAN, Armenia— On February 2, the Zaven & Sonia Akian College of Science & Engineering (CSE) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted Nitzan Yudan, Founder and CEO of FlatClub (soon to be rebranded as Benivo). The speaker shared FlatClub’s experience and addressed topics related to startup management and investment in Armenia.

FlatClub recently raised $10 million in venture capital investment to grow its team in Armenia and develop a better product to their clients which include Google, Microsoft, Bloomberg, Apple, Vodafone, and Hertz. FlatClub has offices in Yerevan and London with 70 employees. Mr. Yudan has won a number of awards including the Most Promising Entrepreneur Award by JC and was selected to the Silicon 60 (Emerging Companies to Watch) by the Evening Standard, and also won the TechCrunch 1 Sentence Pitching Challenge. Mr. Yudan holds an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the London Business School. He graduated magna cum laude in Industrial Engineering & Management at Ben Gurion University (Beer Sheva, Israel).

Mr. Yervand Sarkisyan, Co-Founder and Partner of Granatus Ventures (granatusventures.com), was also present at the event. Granatus Ventures is the first Armenian venture capital fund providing seed and early stage financing to innovative startups. Mr. Sarkisyan is also co-founder of Agnian (agnian.com), a digital agency, as well as, co-founder of Artbeep (artbeep.com), an online art gallery. Mr. Sarkisyan has been engaged in the development of the Armenian tech sector for more than a decade and advises tech businesses in the UK and Armenia. Mr. Sarkisyan holds a Master in Finance with Distinction from London Business School. He has studied Mathematics at Yerevan State University and Computer Science at AUA.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.