Tag: venture capital

Raffi Kassarjian, CEO of Sensyan and advisor to the CEO of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises, joins us to recap the major events that took place in Armenia’s tech sector over the last year. We spoke about the state of the global tech sector and how it relates to Armenia’s context, particularly the slowdown of venture capital financing and how start-ups are thinking about their run rates. Raffi also shared his thoughts on the influx of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian tech talent to the country this year, and the arrival of several global tech companies. Lastly, we spoke about the impact of the appreciation of the Armenian dram and its impact on the industry.

Leonid Kirakosyan, a partner at McKinsey & Company, joins us to discuss the importance of digital transformation and making Armenia a more attractive destination for strategic investment. We also spoke about how Armenia’s tech industry can have a larger impact on the economy and what it will take to turn the country into a globally competitive innovation hub, including addressing the talent needs of the ecosystem.

BigStory VC, a founder-led venture capital fund, promises to be the first of its kind, as Armenia’s start-up ecosystem continues to grow and its members attain success.

This week on EVN Disrupt, Karen Vardanyan, a founding partner at FormulaVC, joins us to discuss their firm’s investment strategy and what early stage start-ups they’re seeing in the Armenian ecosystem. We also discussed what the current global economic situation means for Armenian start-ups, and what the future of the venture capital space in Armenia may look like.

Armenia’s advancement in the tech and innovation space is only in its infancy. In order to take the next step, domestic financial markets need to be well-aligned and sophisticated enough to provide the best possible support and take Armenian entrepreneurship and innovation to the next level.