Team-building and Communication Workshop for EPIC Startups

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On March 1, 2020, the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) organized a team-building and communication workshop for the Spring 2020 cohort of its Incubation Program. The workshop was facilitated by Adjunct Assistant Professor at the AUA College of Business and Economics (CBE), Dr. Hilda Grigorian, who has over 25 years of professional experience in the private sector in the U.S. and over 16 years of experience in the International Development arena.

Thus, EPIC startupers celebrated the first day of spring with intensive workshops that helped them further develop the necessary communication skills to improve performance. Dr. Grigorian’s guidance on keeping up with teamwork and building team morale will help them manage stress, as well as the ups and downs in the process of building their ventures. “Life is too short to build someone else’s dream… Dream big dreams,” she motivated the teams.

The young entrepreneurs gained practical knowledge by engaging in different challenges and activities. Dr. Grigorian tested their active listening skills, which helped the teams realize the scale of impact that improper communication can cause. They also participated in the Spaghetti Challenge which gave them the opportunity to develop their creativity thinking outside the box.

“Entrepreneurship is a winding journey with many challenges and it takes a special person to overcome the obstacles with patience, persistence, and perseverance. EPIC equips dedicated entrepreneurs with resources to travel the journey and achieve their goals,” remarked Dr. Grigorian. One of the first obstacles prepared by EPIC for the teams to overcome was the Paperclip Challenge. The startupers spent a couple of hours in the center of Yerevan to exchange a simple paper clip for something of more value. With this activity they realized the essence of entrepreneurship and the values of self-motivation, persistence, flexibility, and communication. 

Lia Yeghoyants, co-founder of Review,  highlighted that “besides being informative, the session was enlightening. From now on we are the ambassadors of our ideas. We must be ready to pitch our ideas anywhere, anytime.‘You never know when you will meet Elon Musk, so be prepared’, said Ms. Hilda, and that, by far, was the best advice.” 

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.