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Aram Minasyan has never viewed entrepreneurship as an abstract pursuit. For him, it has always begun with something specific. It might be a persistent itch, a broken system, an inefficiency, or a missing piece in the world around him. His journey began not in a boardroom but in the chaotic, humid backrooms of seafood distribution in Armenia, where he first asked a simple question: why isn’t fresh seafood available inland?
That question launched a venture that would become Armenia’s first live seafood supply chain, Chef Omar. From there, the ventures Minasyan founded, including Chef Omar, ITAI, and now Three Orcas, have followed a recognizable pattern. Each was driven by a desire to bring modern, high-impact solutions to underdeveloped or underserved markets, often starting with nothing more than a practical frustration and a great deal of persistence.
He does not wait for perfect conditions to begin. He starts when the problem is real enough to demand action.
Building a New Market, From Ice to Infrastructure
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When Aram Minasyan launched Chef Omar, the logistics of delivering live, high-quality seafood to Armenian customers were virtually nonexistent. Armenia is landlocked, and the infrastructure for fresh seafood simply was not in place. But he saw that gap as white space.
Minasyan and his team built everything from scratch by developing cold chain logistics, implementing live seafood preservation, and creating a direct-to-customer distribution model. They did it with persistence, spreadsheets, and a garage. Over time, Chef Omar became a national brand that shaped a market before it existed. What began as a logistical experiment quickly evolved into a consumer movement driven by freshness, reliability, and trust.
By 2025, Armenia’s fish and seafood market is projected to generate over US$515 million in revenue, with each person accounting for US$174.55 and an average consumption of 10.1 kilograms. That kind of growth begins with solving hard, overlooked problems, not waiting for ideal conditions.
Chef Omar was eventually acquired. However, it marked a milestone that enabled Minasyan to apply those lessons to the next challenge.
Scaling Smarter: How ITAI Delivered Intelligent Digital Solutions
With the experience of Chef Omar behind him, Aram Minasyan co-founded ITAI, a digital transformation company specializing in automation and AI-powered systems. The challenge this time wasn’t about moving goods, but about moving processes—modernizing how organizations operate in fast-evolving digital environments.
Many businesses were still operating on spreadsheets and manual processes, while the global market was rapidly advancing with AI, RPA, and cloud infrastructure. According to a report by the World Bank, more than 60% of businesses in Armenia still do not use modern digital technologies, highlighting a significant gap in digital transformation.
Through ITAI, Minasyan led the implementation of intelligent automation platforms and process optimization tools that helped organizations run faster, more efficiently, and with greater consistency. The goal was never to follow trends, but to deliver real operational improvements—sometimes enhanced by AI, but always grounded in practical business logic and system-level clarity.
By Q1 2023, ITAI had become one of Armenia’s top IT taxpayers, a testament to both its financial success and its contribution to the local economy.
ITAI ranked among Armenia’s top IT taxpayers in the first quarter of 2023. Source: Modex
Like Chef Omar, ITAI was ultimately acquired. But again, the project wasn’t the end goal. The goal was motion. Forward, always.
Three Orcas: Scaling with the Right Problems
Today, Aram Minasyan leads Three Orcas, a full‑service growth partner and venture studio. It goes well beyond traditional consulting—combining brand strategy, digital presence, technology platforms, and automation systems to help businesses scale in complex markets. Three Orcas builds everything from marketing storytelling and website platforms to operational tools and launch support—working as an execution partner, not just an advisor. It’s the culmination of everything he has learned over the past decade: the urgency of real-world problems, the thrill of market creation, and the discipline of scaling with purpose.
At Three Orcas, the focus is on tackling the kinds of challenges most companies hesitate to face. These are the ones buried in complexity, shaped by uncertainty, and rooted in unfamiliar terrain. Bureaucratic complexity, regulatory ambiguity, and consumer mistrust are the messy edges where innovation actually happens.
According to the World Bank, economic growth across emerging markets in Europe and Central Asia is projected to slow to just 2.5% by 2025–26, driven by global uncertainty, weakened demand, and geopolitical volatility. These conditions call for sharper thinking, faster execution, and deep local trust. It is precisely the kind of environment where Three Orcas delivers its strongest results.
Whether helping a startup in Berlin expand to the Caucasus or building a joint venture between partners in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the model is always the same: build trust, prove value, and stay nimble.
How Challenge Sharpens Vision and Fuels Action
Across every venture Aram Minasyan has led, he has kept returning to one principle: businesses are tools to solve problems. That’s it. Not status symbols. Not passive income. Not brand play. But pragmatic responses to unmet needs.
Entrepreneurship, especially in emerging markets, demands brutal honesty. It’s not always elegant. Sometimes it means hauling boxes at midnight, coding through power outages, or making cold calls to regulators who’ve never heard of the category. But it’s real. It forces clarity. And it teaches resilience in a way that no MBA ever could.
Minasyan’s background in engineering and systems thinking certainly helped. But what made the real difference was stubbornness and proximity to the problems he wanted to solve. He wasn’t an outsider looking for “opportunity.” He was already in the system, already frustrated by its inefficiencies. That proximity gave him both insight and drive.
Lessons for the Region: Creating Change Where It’s Needed Most
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One takeaway from Aram Minasyan’s approach that may resonate with other entrepreneurs in Armenia and the broader Caucasus region is this: don’t wait for the perfect conditions. The market may not be ready. The infrastructure may be missing. The capital may be slow. Build anyway.
The region holds immense innovation potential precisely because so much remains unfinished, unoptimized, and overlooked. Every inefficiency, every outdated system, every "that's just how it is" represents an opportunity for someone brave enough to challenge it.
The entrepreneurs who will shape the future here are not the ones who mimic Silicon Valley. Instead, they are the ones who adapt global innovation to local realities. And they will be rewarded not just with business success, but with the deeper satisfaction of advancing their communities.
Looking Ahead: Building with Purpose, Moving with Conviction
As Aram Minasyan continues to grow Three Orcas, he stays grounded in the lessons he learned during those early seafood shipments. Start with the customer. Solve a real problem. Build what is missing. Then move on to the next challenge.
That mindset still shapes everything he does. The industries may shift, but the principle remains the same. He looks for complexity, not comfort. Each venture presents an opportunity to bring clarity, structure, and lasting value.
Three Orcas operate in places where momentum must be created before it can be measured. The work may start quietly, but in time, it becomes infrastructure. It becomes trust.
The problems do not stop. And for builders who lead with purpose, that is precisely the point.
About the Author
Elise Martin is a writer and journalist covering business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She focuses on how ideas become solutions in challenging or overlooked markets. Her reporting highlights the people behind ventures that create real, lasting change. Elise is interested in systems, strategy, and the stories that often go untold.
References
Business Media (2025). The Digital Lag of Armenian Businesses. https://bm.ge/en/news/the-digital-lag-of-armenian-businesses-over-60-of-companies-do-not-use-modern-technologies-according-to-the-world-bank
Forbes (2023).AI In Management Consulting: Emerging Solutions And A Path Forward.https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/09/26/ai-in-management-consulting-emerging-solutions-and-a-path-forward/
Modex (2023).Top IT taxpayers | 2023 Q1. https://modex.am/en/top-it-taxpayers-2023-q1/
Statista (2025). Market Insights: Fish & Seafood - Armenia. https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/food/fish-seafood/armenia
Three Orcas (n.d.). Three Orcas Official Website.https://3orcas.com/
World Bank Group (2025). The World Bank in Europe and Central Asia: Europe and Central Asia Economic Update. https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca/overview
