EPIC Empowers Armenia’s Startup Ecosystem With Globally-Connected Startup Huddle

4 min read

YEREVAN, Armenia — Members of Armenia’s startup ecosystem know exactly where to spend their mornings every last Friday of the month: for the past five months, the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) at the American University of Armenia has organized Startup Huddle Yerevan, a meetup of like-minded entrepreneurs. Here, entrepreneurs from diverse professional backgrounds share the challenges and experiences their startups encounter, while the audience — comprising ecosystem representatives and startup enthusiasts — collaborates to help the founders devise ideas for overcoming these challenges.

Startup Huddle Yerevan: A Node in a Global Network

Startup Huddle builds local startup communities while crowd-sourcing advice and support, one entrepreneur at a time. Administered by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), it comprises monthly gatherings of local community and business leaders, founders, ecosystem builders, investors, and other stakeholders invested in nurturing startup success.

Every month, from Amsterdam to Singapore and Vancouver to Cairo, more than 65 communities worldwide gather to offer support, encouragement, and feedback. The format is tailored to inspire startups and encourage community development within local startup ecosystems. This also enables local organizers, such as EPIC, to engage with GEN, which facilitates extensive cross-border collaboration and initiatives among entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers, and entrepreneurial support organizations globally.

As the Yerevan chapter organizer of GEN, EPIC ensures that Armenia’s vibrant startup ecosystem is well-represented in global events, such as Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) Armenia, slated for this spring. EWC Armenia offers two of the country’s most promising startups the opportunity to shine on the international stage through this prestigious pitching competition.

In addition to providing direct support to entrepreneurs, Startup Huddle addresses a critical element of success for startups – connectivity. GEN-supported studies show that startup communities with strong local connections see a significant increase in the number of startups. Moreover, founders with extensive networks enjoy double the revenue growth as those with limited connections.

Held every last Friday of each month, Startup Huddle enhances connectivity by bringing the community together to engage with local founders, who deliver six-minute presentations outlining their company’s challenges. Each presentation is followed by a 20-minute interactive discussion offering constructive debate, recommendations, and critique aimed at finding solutions and amplifying the founder’s expertise.

Growing Together: The Chronicle of Startup Huddle Yerevan

Startup Huddle provides platforms for a range of entrepreneurs, from those in the early idea-validation stages to those in the maturity stage. A glance at the profiles of the speakers EPIC has invited so far reveals both established representatives from the ecosystem as well as fresh faces.

EPIC’s first Huddle event in September featured Aram Jivanyan, who is developing next-generation financial privacy protocols, and Armin Saidi, founder of STEALTH and a serial entrepreneur with decades of experience. Despite the challenging times Armenia faced, the community nevertheless managed to gather and kickstart monthly Huddles for the nation’s startup ecosystem, contributing to its growth and strength.

At subsequent Huddles, EPIC welcomed Irina Ghazaryan from DoctorYan, who discussed the challenges faced by marketplace startups, and Karapet Gyumjibashyan from Krisp, who shed light on obstacles faced when scaling a product.

The list of presenting speakers continued to grow, including doodoc’s Karlen Madoyan and BLiiNK’s Nairi Baghdasaryan. The November Huddle was special, as it coincided with Global Entrepreneurship Week in Armenia (GEW Armenia), another GEN initiative for which EPIC was the national host. Over the course of one week, EPIC, along with 14 ecosystem partners, organized around 30 events for the startup community, engaging more than 1,500 participants and orchestrating Armenia’s full-scale participation in GEW 2023.

EPIC Community and Operations Manager Anna Khachatryan stated: “Startup Huddle is an informal community event, during which we normalize challenges, failures, and problems in the life of startups. The entrepreneurial journey is full of hurdles, and we lack platforms where we can openly discuss and resolve them, especially with ecosystem participation. With five Huddles completed, we see our community growing. Interest in the program is increasing, and we feel that our ecosystem lacks a platform to discuss and learn from each other’s challenges.”

Mark Your Calendar: The Next Startup Huddle Yerevan

EPIC’s next Startup Huddle is planned for February 23 and will feature Alexey Rubtsov, founder and CEO of Reseat.tech, and Gohar Petrosyan, founder and CEO of HogaTAR. 

Rubtsov’s passion for human motion has driven his diverse background in higher education, science, paralympic sports, and physical rehabilitation. His startup focuses on creating robotic equipment for individuals with spinal cord injuries, brain strokes, and children with cerebral palsy, promoting the development of applied motor skills. Over the years, Rubtsov has participated in two EPIC programs: STRIVE and EPIC Jam.

Petrosyan’s startup, HogaTAR, is the only SaaS (software as a service) solution providing children with transportation service for school and afterschool activities in Yerevan. HogaTAR is a graduate of EPIC’s Incubation program and a winner of the Agbabian prize at the annual Demo Day back in 2022. With ten years of experience in financial management and business development, Petrosyan brings valuable insights to the group.

Rubtsov and Petrosyan will be discussing the marketing and operational challenges their startups face. Individuals interested in the format and speakers who would like to connect with like-minded people from the startup ecosystem are welcome to reserve their seats by clicking here. 

Ready to Share? Apply to Be a Speaker at Startup Huddle Yerevan

Entrepreneurs who would like to share the challenges their startup faces and receive valuable feedback from the community can register as a speaker for upcoming Huddles. The EPIC team will then contact applicants to discuss further details. EPIC welcomes entrepreneurs from various backgrounds and stages of the startup journey currently residing in Armenia. Interested entrepreneurs can apply to be a speaker here. 

The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) is a platform of the American University of Armenia (AUA) for promoting entrepreneurial education, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and startup venture incubation. EPIC provides an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs consisting of first-class facilities and collaborative workspace, programs and events, and a network of mentors, advisors, and investors. EPIC fosters the understanding and application of entrepreneurship in students and faculty at AUA to craft high-impact multidisciplinary ventures.