Starting World Class Enterprises: A Venture Capitalist’s Perspective

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On May 5th, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Entrepreneurship & Product Innovation Center (EPIC) hosted a public lecture led by Venture Capitalist Manuk Hergnyan on starting a world-class enterprise in Armenia. The presentation was a part of the series of lectures titled “What’s Next?”.

Manuk Hergnyan discussed key motivations behind starting an enterprise, the startup journey, ingredients to success, key pitfalls, what makes a world-class startup, what venture capitalists look for when investing in a startup, challenges in the Armenian eco-startup system, and how to overcome challenges.

Manuk Hergnyan is the co-founder and managing partner at Granatus Ventures, the first Armenian venture capital firm to provide funding, expertise and networks to promising technology-driven startups based in, or having core value-add activities in Armenia. Manuk is also a founder and managing partner at EV Consulting, a leading business advisory and corporate finance firm with offices in Yerevan and Moscow. He is also the founding chairman of the Economy and Values (EV) Research Center, a partner institute of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Network. Manuk serves on the boards of a number of private companies and public sector and non-commercial organizations including Arar Foundation, Microsoft Innovation Center in Armenia and member of Ayb club.

He holds an Executive MBA from Oxford University, Ph.D. in Economics from Moscow State University and MA in Economics from Yerevan State University.

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 US-style education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.