11:57 | 12.02.19 | Interviews | exclusive 50660
For a week in mid-March, Index Ventures, one of the leading venture capital funds, is coming to spend time with the startup ecosystem in Armenia.
The team at Index will be doing 1:1s with startups and providing mentorship on early business decisions and how to raise the first round of capital. In addition, on March 14th, the team will host the Index Ventures Armenia Tech Summit at the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies.
Itel.am has talked to Nina Achadjian, Principal of Index Ventures and founder of HIVE Ventures.
Index Ventures Armenia Tech Summit will be held for the first time in Armenia. What is it aimed at and what results do you expect?
Index Ventures was one of the first VC funds to start investing outside of the United States. As a result, we are true believers that entrepreneurship is global. Our team at Index will be spending a week in Armenia to meet with local startups, provide mentorship and volunteer.
What topics will be discussed during the forum?
Our team has been fortunate enough to back some amazing companies. Our goal is to share both success stories and learnings from the Index portfolio such as Dropbox, Bird, Adyen, Robinhood, Sonos. We will also discuss raising money in Silicon Valley, hot trends in technology and some general advice on being an early stage founder.
Can you name some of the speakers you are bringing to Armenia for the forum?
We are very excited to be bringing a team with a variety of sector and stage focuses. Some of the attendees include Mike Volpi Dominique Vidal, Ari Helgason, Dino Becirovic, Nina Achadjian and Andre Dubois.
There will be a pitch competition during the event. What kind of startups are you looking for and how can they apply?
We’ll be looking for innovative startups that address global markets. Startups can apply to compete in the pitch competition or spend 1:1 time with the investment team by filling out this form.
Is Index Ventures planning to invest in the startup that wins the pitch contest?
Yes, we plan to invest USD 25,000 in the winning startup.
Narine Daneghyan talked to Nina Achadjian