We were lucky to catch up with Armine Galstyan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Armine, thanks for joining us today. Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?

I discovered my passion for startups, technology, and entrepreneurship while I was still at university, and met the partners of a newly launched venture capital fund, SmartGateVC. At the age of 19, I became one of their first hires. What motivated and inspired the fund team was well aligned with my aspirations. The seamless match of our values and goals made becoming a part of SmartGateVC an easy and fulfilling choice.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Armine Galstyan and I’m currently a principal at SmartGateVC. I studied at the American University of Armenia and majored in Business. While studying at the university, I learned about startups, technology and entrepreneurship, and met the partners of a newly launched venture capital fund, SmartGateVC. At the age of 19, I became one of their first hires. SmartGateVC invests on the edge where science and entrepreneurship join to disrupt the status quo. It’s a deep tech VC firm that invests $100K to $1M in pre-seed and seed companies primarily in the AI space. Throughout my work in the venture capital space, I led SmartGateVC’s deep tech incubation and pre-acceleration programs, where I have worked with early-stage startups and helped entrepreneurs raise pre-seed funding. Three years ago we launched Hero House in Glendale which is a tech and entrepreneurship hub. It has become a home for deep tech companies, entrepreneurs, scientists, and investors for the last 3 years.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

A venture capital (VC) firm operates on a dual structure. On one side, there are the investors or limited partners (LP) who entrust capital to be managed by the general partners. On the other side, the focus is on startup companies and founders, serving as the recipients of the invested funds. Building relationships is a fundamental aspect of managing a venture capital fund. The key deals we invest in, as well as significant investments to our fund, typically originate from referrals. These referrals come from either other founders within our portfolio, connections and friends in tech, or from our limited partners. This network-driven approach plays a crucial role in our venture capital operations.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

An essential aspect of managing an early-stage fund involves maintaining close collaboration with the funders and assisting them in overcoming the challenges they encounter. We adopt a highly involved approach with our portfolio companies, offering hands-on support whenever needed. Our team engages in daily interactions, effectively becoming a support system for the companies we invest in, whether it’s guiding them through fundraising processes or facilitating introductions to potential customers. Our close relationship and hands-on approach with our portfolio companies are the foundations on which we build and maintain our reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: smartgate.vc
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armine.galstyan.sg/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armine-galstyan/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmartGateVC