Interview with Emmanuel Chačatrjan from Kantar
Hi everyone,
Continuing with our interview series, this week we had the opportunity to chat with Emmanuel Chačatrjan from Kantar. Emmanuel is based in Prague and has been a part of the Hye Combinator network for some time now. He understands all things marketing/creative, and has been a invaluable resource to our community. We hope you find these helpful, with more to come. My interview with Emmanuel…
HC: Thanks for taking the time Emmanuel. Why don’t we start first with an introduction of yourself?
EC: Great to be here Nick. So I was born in Armenia, in Yerevan, right when the USSR was falling apart, and Armenia was striving for its independence. Unfortunately, we all know how difficult those first years were for our country. So, unsurprisingly, my parents chose to move to a place where, as they thought, they could give their children a better future - Siberia. :-) But by the time I was 16 I had a clear understanding that Russia wasn't right for me. So I moved to the Czech Republic, started studying at Prague University of Economics and Business, and quickly entered the business world. By the time i finished my Master's in Marketing Communications, I had a couple of years of experience of working with numbers (Revenue management for a small group of hotels). That led to me landing a job of an analyst at one of the leading global Marketing Research agencies. Since then, for almost 10 years now, I've been focusing on building my expertise in creative optimization. To put it into simple terms, I help you optimize your advertising for better ROI.
HC: Very interesting and quite the experience! So how are you involved in the global Armenian tech ecosystem today?
EC: You know all businesses deal with marketing and advertising. So, considering what I can bring to the table, I haven't been strictly focusing on the tech ecosystem in my attempts to be helpful to Armenia. Apart from being one of the mentors in Hye Combinator, I also volunteered for the UN's Industrial Development Organization where I had a chance to mentor a really cool eco-start up in Armenia. Currently, I consult a small team which is developing an app that will disrupt the restaurant industry in Armenia in a good way. And I'm always looking for other interesting projects, where I could help with my knowledge of effective advertising.
HC: That’s great. You’ve been a great resource at Hye Combinator. Talk a bit about your current role, how you help clients, what you offer, etc.
EC: We partner with our clients to help them grow their brands. We offer (and I'm going to say this without any fake modesty) state of the art research in the areas of brand equity, creative development, media and others. My "home" is Creative. I've been focusing on advertising improvement since the day when I joined the company, and in a way I do that to this day. Currently, I'm responsible for our portfolio of research solutions aimed at measuring and optimizing advertising effectiveness. My job is about constantly coming up with new ways of uncovering even more relevant and actionable insights for our clients.
HC: How did you get into this industry? What excites you about what you do today?
EC: I was always interested in creative advertising and wanted to pursue a career in this field. But also I'm wired in a very analytical and systematic manner. So Marketing Research really brings the best of the two worlds together for me. And as a Product Director, with offices in 70+ countries, the ability to run our research virtually in every market around the world, strong in-market sales validation of our methodologies, and really exciting Neuroscience techniques we use, I couldn't wish for a better product portfolio to manage.
HC: How would you describe the health of Armenia’s startup ecosystem?
EC: I would probably describe it as a very healthy baby who grows so fast that it makes the parents struggle to buy larger size baby clothes on time. From what I observe, I am super excited for the growth that we've registered in the recent years. And since 2022 I hear about new large players entering the market, and about investments pouring in all the time. But you know, we've been largely irrelevant for the world for so long, that we have a lot of catching up to do. So, I just wish the acceleration was faster. And of course achieving that means more resources - capital and talent. I think opening up to the world even more, stabilizing the geo-political situation in the region, and improving some of our social policies further should do the trick. I'm very optimistic!
HC: We would agree. The growth has been phenomenal but there is always room for more. Where can it improve? What is lacking in the ecosystem?
EC: I like to look at it from two angles. First, on a more strategic level, good policies bring good economic outcomes. For me it all comes down to the '3T approach' by Richard Florida. Granted, he came up with this theory focusing on the development of cities. But cities are an ecosystem like any other. I take the liberty to scale his thinking down to a single start up, or scale it up to an entire nation. And no matter how I play with it, for me it still makes sense.
He basically points out 3 key factors in creating a thriving city (ecosystem) - Technology, Talent, and Tolerance. These three tend to gravitate towards each other, and the job of leaders and policy makers is in removing all the barriers that could prevent these crucial factors from clustering in and around the given ecosystem. Ideally, you'd systematically foster that clustering, and not just facilitate it by removing obstacles, of course. The most creative people cannot maximize their productivity without technologically advanced tools. Technology is not leading to growth when you don't have a tolerant environment where people feel free to use the tech in unexpected ways and be creative with it. And inclusive and accepting environments don't form out of vacuum - you need talented weirdos around you who will elevate the level of tolerance for new, different and creative problem-solving.
And, from a more tactical perspective, I think we need to embrace boldness and empowerment. Again, very systematically and across the board - from schools to corporate culture. As a small country, with very limited resources, we can only win if we play the big game. We need to become more relevant for the world, culturally and practically. So, I'd love to see our tech start-ups acting boldly, i.e. developing products for the world rather than for the local or regional markets. I also can't wait to see technological solutions being more accessible for more people in Armenia.
For example, I find it ridiculous that today if I want to start accepting cards on my e-commerce website as an entrepreneur in Armenia, I have to physically visit a bank, and wait for weeks for them to approve my case. On top of that, then I have to spend a significant amount of money and time on integrating their clumsy payment gateway on my website. The only reason for that is because companies like Stripe and PayPal are not available for entrepreneurs in Armenia. If they were, every second Armenian would have had a website running on Wordpress by now, and would be selling some digital products globally as a side hustle. :-)
HC: It’s a change in mindset and removing any restrictions / red tape in the system… If you were giving advice to an entrepreneur who is meeting a VC for the first time, what advice would you give?
EC: I'd probably advise them to watch at least one whole season of Shark Tank or Dragons' Den. :-) But seriously, I think our education system doesn't do a very good job of instilling presentation and story-telling skills into our aspiring entrepreneurs. My expertise is in Communications, so I can't help but notice common issues we see in pitches. Both, the visual aid used for presenting your startup idea and you delivery, must be well-planned, polished and able to leave a lasting impression. It doesn't matter that your idea is going to change the world, if you don't manage to grab attention and make your audience feel excited. Think of your typical Armenian mom when she's trying to convince you to meet that "nice girl" or "nice boy" who she envisions as your potential bachelor/bachelorette.
She will find the most suitable moment to bring that up,
She will tell you a bunch of exciting facts about that person,
She will point out those facts that are particularly relevant for you, your interests, lifestyle and aspirations,
She will paint the colourful vision of your ideal future with them,
And she'll probably conclude by stressing out how much you're going to miss out if you don't pursue that option.
Imagine how much thinking and planning went into that one pitch by your mom. If your presentation to a VC isn't at least as thought-through, you might waste possibly the only chance to impress them.
HC: Great analogy… anything else you’d like to touch on? How can people get in touch if they are interested in learning more about you?
EC: Yes! Generative AI! Is anyone looking into this? I think unless one lives under a rock, they must have registered all the hype around ChatGPT and generative AI since December 2022. And I am totally on board with this hype. I think this opens endless opportunities for new businesses to pop up and make people's lives easier with bespoke services/platforms that use such technologies and their models. If anyone has any tips to share, or if they needs advice on how to make their ads more effective, find me on LinkedIn. And for less formal enquiries (e.g. invitation for wine-tasting next time I'm in Yerevan), then you can find my socials in my travel blog about Armenia.
HC: Awesome, that was great Emmanuel. Thank you again so much for your time.
EC: Anytime, thanks.