FAST Vice President speaks about ‘idea killing’

Suzanna Shamakhyan, Vice President at FAST Foundation, said that one of their goals is that companies originating in Armenia and achieving global success not to be exceptions but become the norm.

At the meeting with the participants of the Get Started educational program, Suzanna Shamakhyan said that FAST has implemented 25 projects in seven years, 10 of which were aimed at the commercialization of startups and the products they developed.

Get Started program for high school students is implemented by Armenian On-line Media and Journalists Association NGO and Mediamax Media Company, with Viva-MTS as the main partner.

Suzanna Shamakhyan pointed out that Armenia currently does not lack funds for the development of startups. “The capital available exceeds the number of high-quality teams and innovative ideas,” she noted. At the same time, Shamakhyan advised startups against becoming too attached to their initial idea, as it can cause the founders not to notice their flaws.

Suzanna Shamakhyan said that the incubation and acceleration programs often do not show a critical approach, as questioning is not their focus. She referenced a recent study, indicating that, on average, $15 million is invested in a startup worldwide before it is realized that it does not have prospects in the market.

The FAST Vice President mentioned that in FAST they regularly exercise ‘idea killing,’ during which the experts in the field try to identify all the reasons why the startup might not succeed.

She noted that sometimes it is useful to involve non-specialists in this exercise as well, as they can look as future consumer and come up give valuable comments or suggestions.

Suzanna Shamakhyan advised the participants of Get Started program to consider having not just one but several ideas. In the event that their primary idea proves unviable, they can work on the others.

“One of the pivotal questions is this: When pitching your idea, do you genuinely want to solve a real problem or merely to prove something to someone? The first must always prevail. You should also realize that a true entrepreneur is a person who thinks a lot, asks questions and delves deep to find answers,” Suzanna Shamakhyan told the students.