From Armenia to a million at 27 — through scrap metal, trolleybuses, and unloading goods at night
My name is Ara Akhtoyan. Today, I am an entrepreneur, co-founder of OSCAR GROUP and creator of the FENOMEN-A project. I was born in Armenia, and I am growing my business between Ukraine and Europe. It is important to me to bring cultures, generations, and ideas together.
I am creating the FENOMEN-A platform about remarkable people of Armenian origin. Through this project, I want to build a new generation of the Armenian diaspora and motivate people to grow, live mindfully, set ambitious goals, and achieve them. To me, entrepreneurship is not just about profit. It is about contribution, people, and the long game. My core values are trust, action, and responsibility.
Over the years in business, I have faced many challenges and crises. Ukrainian business constantly teaches you to adapt and withstand setbacks. But I have never had a moment when I wanted to give it all up and shut everything down. I have considered other directions, new fields, and opportunities, but I have always understood that whatever field I worked in, I would still strive to be among the best. Entrepreneurship is in my nature. When I was younger, at the very beginning, I wanted to become a diplomat and even studied at the faculty of diplomacy, but after entering the business world, I realized that this was exactly what I was meant to do.
Of course, business comes at a price. In the early stages, it took up a lot of time that I could have spent with my family and children. I saw them less than I would have liked. But today, thank God, I have managed to find a balance. Now I can spend more time with my family, and that is very important to me. To be honest, in the end, business has given me far more than it has taken away.
Based on my own experience, I always advise people who are just planning to go into business to first work at a good company. Ideally, they should work their way up within the organization, prove themselves, and learn responsibility, discipline, how to meet deadlines, and how to give their best. If someone wants to become an entrepreneur, they should learn to think like one before starting their own business.
I am convinced that business is not for everyone. Today, many people romanticize entrepreneurship: fancy cars, travel, success. But behind it are years of hard work, constant stress, and responsibility. Sometimes a person can be much more successful as a skilled specialist in their field, advancing their career, becoming a highly paid professional, and achieving great results that way. So before going into business, you need to honestly ask yourself whether you are ready for that kind of life.
Principles and reputation are very important to me. I never go back on my word or break agreements with partners. To me, a contract and trust are always worth more than money.
The FENOMEN-A project holds a special place in my life — a YouTube channel I created as a social initiative. The people featured in this project are successful Armenians from different countries around the world. I want to show the world the achievements of our compatriots, our culture, and the strength of people who, even while living far from their historic homeland, have managed to fulfill their potential, succeed, and still retain their identity. This is an important social project to which I devote a great deal of time, energy, and my own resources.
In five years, I see myself as a happy person, surrounded by my family, parents, and loved ones. It is very important to me that everyone is healthy and close by. In business, I see the company continuing to scale, growing two to three times, opening offices in Ukraine's largest cities, and strengthening its position in the Polish and European markets overall.
And when it comes to happiness, it is very simple for me. Happiness is harmony in the family and inner peace.
I wanted to become a diplomat — but I entered the business world and realized it was exactly what I was meant to do
How did the business idea come about?
I joined a company and worked as a manager. Later, I opened my own company and started working in the same field. So I already had experience.
I think that if I had joined a different company, I might have gone into a different business. But I never saw myself as an employee. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to work for myself, earn a living, and pay for my own education.
Ambition, charisma, and trust from the first meeting — three qualities that opened doors
What key skills helped you launch your business?
I always say that business is not for everyone. I had big ambitions, a sense of responsibility, a certain charisma, and the ability to work with people.
People meeting me for the first time often trusted me with their money, advance payments, and business right away. My ability to negotiate and think several steps ahead helped me enormously.
Trolleybuses, going hungry, and doing every job at once — the price of OSCAR GROUP's early years
What were the 3 most difficult challenges you tackled in the early years?
It was very difficult at the beginning. We had no money, access to credit, or support. I cut back on absolutely everything: I rode trolleybuses, went hungry, but invested everything I earned into growing the business.
We were a small company and could not compete on price, so we earned very little, but retained clients through service and relationships. Large competitors tried to poach our clients, but I managed to keep them thanks to the personal relationships I had built.
I went through every stage of the business myself: unloading goods at night, selling during the day, and handling accounting, logistics, and every other process. So I understand very well that business is hard work and is not for everyone.
A large warehouse as a competitive advantage — while others cut back, we keep stock
What crises has your business faced, and how have you overcome them?
One of the main challenges at the beginning was hiring people and expanding the team. At first, my brother and I worked alone, and physically we could not grow. When we started hiring employees, the business began to scale.
Another important feature of our company is our large inventory. Many try to minimize their stock, while we do the opposite — we keep a broad range of products and large quantities in our warehouse.
In our market, this became a competitive advantage. When deliveries from factories stopped for one to three months, our inventory saved both us and our clients. We stand out for our speed, product availability, and wide selection.
A team and a warehouse — two decisions that doubled OSCAR GROUP during the war
Which decisions proved most effective for the company's growth?
Two decisions drove the most significant growth.
The first was hiring and expanding the team. Once we stopped working as just the two of us, we had the opportunity to scale the business.
The second was our strategy of maintaining a large warehouse and a broad product range. Where others try not to tie up money in inventory, we deliberately invest in stock. This is critically important in our market because clients often need something “today” or even “yesterday.”
Speed, product availability, and choice became our key advantages.
A partnership without a contract — and a great deal of time, nerves, and money lost
Which of your mistakes do you now consider your most valuable lesson?
I made many mistakes, but my most valuable lesson came from a partnership without a formally written contract. Because of it, I lost a lot of time, endured a lot of stress, and spent a lot of money. Since then, I have understood how important it is to put everything in writing legally.
