Welcome to all the new members of the Hye Ventures Crew. Our mission is simple. Accelerating the success of Armenian founders and funders to build a more prosperous, equitable future. Subscribe today to join early-stage founders, funders, and operators, as well as enthusiasts of the Armenian tech community, and get coverage on recent news directly in your inbox.👇

Over 2 years ago, I started the Hye Ventures Newletter and wanted a logo to represent founders and the Armenian nation as a whole. A lot of people asked me why I chose a fox as the animal for our logo so here’s the answer!

If you think of an animal that represents Armenia, you think of eagles and lions on the coat of arms of Armenia. The ancient Armenian kingdoms of Armenia were represented by the eagle and lion. The eagle represents the sky and freedom, while the lion represents strength and power. These symbols were chosen to represent the strength and independence of the Armenian people and their sovereignty as a nation. They have a long history and cultural significance in Armenian history and are still widely recognized as important symbols of the country. It continues to be a source of national pride.

It’s good to remember the past and honor it, but it’s also important to see where we are currently and how to get back to our roots. To do so, our people need to adapt. This is where the “fox” comes in. The Hye Ventures logo is represented by a fox.

Founders and the Armenian Nation need to be more like foxes. Foxes are typically successful in the workplace, due to their strong competitiveness and ambition. Their love of exploration dovetails with their passion for overcoming challenges, which is why foxes are often found mountain climbing or journeying to exotic, forbidden places - like startup founders. They have the perfect attributes to run their own businesses. Foxes, similar to successful founders have following attributes:

Intelligence/Resourceful: Utilize wit and creativity to solve problems.
Cunning: seeing through deception
Versatility: Be nimble and quick to adapt to change
Adaptability: Ability to move quickly through obstacles and network effortlessly
Stealth: Observe your competitors and market trends

In one word, foxes are “Ճարպիկ” (Jarbig). “Ճարպիկ” is an Armenian word that means a combination of shrewd and clever; it describes someone who doesn’t let life happen to him but acts and finds a way ahead. Armenians around the world need to be more like foxes to help us get back to a state where we can agree that we are lions and eagles!

A month already in 2023. What have you accomplished so far? 2023 will be a big year! Keep an eye out for big announcements, partnerships, investments, and initiatives! Stay tuned 👀

Armenian Startup News 📣

💸 PopUp School, an educational platform created for the US education market by the Dasaran education team, has received $540,000 in seed financing at a $6 million valuation.

💰 Modicus Prime, automates biologics image analysis to accelerate process development and reduce commercial production costs has successfully raised a $1.1M pre-seed round. Congrats to the whole team!

💼 BAJ Accelerator has opened admissions for the May 2023 program. Review and apply to the accelerator here!

🔥 ZERO Systems has been named a Cool Vendor of 2022 by Gartner in a Data-centric AI category!

👨‍💻 Tumo Labs launched a 12-week technology incubation program focused on EdTech, GreenTech and HealthTech. 3 winning teams will receive an initial investment of 20,000 euros each, as well as incubation, fundraising support, and mentoring.

📚 Tumo continues its expansion with new locations in Lyon and Zurich. More locations will be coming soon in Germany, the USA, and Portugal. Nairi Tashjian Hourdajian has also joined TUMO’s board joining Vahe Kuzoyan Raffi Krikorian, Sam Simonian, and Elie Akilian on the mission of transforming education for a generation of kids with access to first-of-its-kind tech and design education.

🚨 Hye Ventures Syndicate: As mentioned a few months ago (read about it here), we now have an investment syndicate looking to back Armenian founders that are raising capital. If you are interested in supporting product-driven, Armenian founders as an investor, fill out the form & we’ll be happy to share our investment opportunities with you!

What we’re following 🚀

Abhishek Shah @abhishekshah173

Pricing is 1% Math. And 99% Psychology. Here are 15 Pricing Psychology principles to get your user spending:

Entrepreneurship:

A Growth framework by Lenny Rachitsky on when and where to focus on each component

Jobs 💼

EasyDMARC is looking to hire a Sales Account Executive in Yerevan. Apply today

Storica Wines, our startup spotlight is looking for their operations lead. This role will double/triple as an Armenian community engagement manager and event coordinator, to build awareness among the diaspora through digital channels and in-person events around the US. Message me if you are interested in learning more!

Startup spotlight 👨‍💻👩‍💻

Storica Wines

Storica Wines is ushering in the newest category in the wine world, through a set of brands representing and expressing Armenia’s rich heritage and renaissance in winemaking. Their aim is to share Armenia’s story as a burgeoning authority in wine and its history as the birthplace of wine with consumers.

Storica’s mission is to become the leading Armenian wine import, sales, and marketing company in North America. Armenia has a decorated, ancient history in quality winemaking. Armenia is home to the Areni-1 Cave, where a 6,100-year-old winemaking facility was unearthed and remains the oldest excavated winery in the world. The current wine renaissance in Armenia enables the country to compete on a global scale. Storica is building the distribution, marketing, sales, & operational infrastructure to seize this opportunity to lead Armenian wine into North America, the world’s largest wine market. They offer over 17 products and have distribution in over 23 states. Read more about them in the following Forbes Articles (#1 and #2). Dont’ forget to support your Armenian Businesses and order some wines!

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Hi! 👋 Thanks for reading Hye Ventures Newsletter. If you’d like to be featured in the next newsletter, please reach out to us! Would love to support others doing great things within the Armenian Tech Ecosystem. From news updates to new investment rounds, sponsorships, events, and even startup spotlights. If you found this newsletter helpful, please share it with friends!

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