“If you have a startup idea, do not focus only on the local market, just think more broadly”

We got acquainted with Tatevik Revazyan during the Hacking for Humanity, held in 2017 by Girls in Tech NGO, where she was participating as a mentor. Hackathon’s goal was to unite high-tech women and girls in solving a variety of issues. Tatevik’s function was giving advice to all participating teams.

Tatevik was born in Armenia but grew up and studied in Denmark. She has two Master’s Degrees of Copenhagen Business School and Stockholm School of Economics. Today Tatevik has returned to Armenia again. She is an employee of international FLYR Company, engaged in the company’s collaboration with international airlines, and in the development of the Armenian team of “FLYR” in Armenia. “FLYR” is a financial and data-based company that incorporates predictive analysis and machine learning in the travel industry.

During the Hackathon organized by Girls in Tech, Tatevik worked with all the teams involved, trying to direct them to better represent their ideas. At the same time, she recommends. If one has a business idea, to focus not only on the local market, but think more broadly. When creating something in Armenia, one should think of making it interesting for the world market as the Armenian market is too small and there is no need to limit its potential from the very beginning. The primary issue for beginners is that they have to solve a global problem to be interesting to the global market.

Tatevik says that there were really very interesting ideas, especially Pepen/freckle/ toy-idea. In her words, it is important to teach children how to present their idea, in a matter of seconds making attractive and exciting presentations.

Sharing her international experience, Tatevik mentions that finding funding for startups is not a top priority; the most important thing is to have a good idea, which has its target customer and a strong team working on it.

In student years Tatevik understood that aviation was very interesting to her. At the time, she was working at the Copenhagen Airport. So she just realized that the ideas of aviation and creating job opportunities in Armenia should be united and something should be done in that direction. Then accidentally learning about FLYR Company’s expansion intentions, an idea of establishing it in Armenia came to her mind. Contacting them she got an answer that they would like to establish such a branch office in Europe. In response to that Tatevik just represented the situation in Armenia connected with great interest towards IT technologies and her desire to do the same, so receiving confirmation she moved to Armenia. Of course it was not an easy task, everything settled up within a course of time.

Concluding, she gives the following advice: “Identify your interests for yourself and comply them with the solutions the world needs. For succeeding it is not enough just like what you do. The others also should need what you do”.

Full text in Armenian