Prologue: The Foundation
Every entrepreneur has an origin story. Mine doesn't start with a garage in Silicon Valley or a brilliant flash of insight. It starts with Armenian immigrant parents, a Los Angeles childhood, and the simple belief that if something can be built better, it should be.
Growing up in LA's Armenian community taught me things that no business school could. Resilience - our people survived genocide and built new lives across the world. Entrepreneurship - almost every family I knew ran a business. Community - when one person succeeds, everyone celebrates. When one struggles, everyone helps.
These weren't abstract values. They were dinner table conversations, Sunday gatherings, the soundtrack of Harout Pamboukjian playing while my parents worked late at their business. They became the foundation for everything I would build.
The Journey
Chapter 1: The Hustle Begins
I founded FASTLIFE LLC, an affiliate marketing company. It wasn't glamorous - it was learning how the internet really worked. Traffic, conversion, optimization. Every click had a value. Every decision had data behind it.
While my friends were posting on early social media, I was analyzing which landing page converted better, which ad copy drove more clicks, which audiences responded to which offers.
"The internet doesn't care about your intentions. It cares about your execution. Data tells the truth even when your gut lies."
Chapter 2: The Pivot to B2B
After years in affiliate marketing, I joined EmailOversight as Director of Business Development. This was different - enterprise sales, longer cycles, bigger stakes. I learned how businesses actually make decisions, how procurement works, how to navigate complex organizational structures.
It was also my first exposure to the problems that would later define my mission. Email verification touched every industry - including healthcare. I started seeing how outdated many healthcare operations really were.
"B2C teaches you speed. B2B teaches you patience. Both teach you that solving real problems beats chasing trends."
Chapter 3: The Healthcare Revelation
The pandemic changed everything. Healthcare systems were overwhelmed. Operations that had been "good enough" suddenly weren't. I watched ambulatory surgery centers struggle with scheduling, communication, and coordination - using software that looked like it was designed in 1995.
I kept asking: why? These are medical professionals doing complex procedures, but they're managing operations with spreadsheets and phone calls and fax machines. There had to be a better way.
"The best business problems are the ones that make you angry. If you can't believe something is still this broken, you're probably the one who should fix it."
Chapter 4: AxiaASC is Born
I founded AxiaASC with a simple thesis: ambulatory surgery centers deserve an operating system built for the 21st century. Not a patchwork of legacy systems. Not a healthcare EHR forced to do things it wasn't designed for. A purpose-built, AI-powered platform that actually makes operations better.
We started building. And we haven't stopped.
"Healthcare deserves better tools. We're building them."
Chapter 5: Expanding Horizons
While building AxiaASC, an opportunity emerged in a completely different space. I became co-founder of Smash.com, a fitness supplements company. Different industry, same principles - find a problem, build a better solution, execute relentlessly.
Some people wondered why I'd diversify. But entrepreneurship isn't about picking one lane. It's about recognizing opportunity and having the skills to capitalize on it.
"Diversification isn't distraction - it's insurance against the unpredictable and proof that skills transfer across domains."
The Through Lines
Looking back at 17 years, certain patterns emerge. These aren't strategies I planned - they're truths I discovered:
Technology as Leverage
From affiliate marketing to healthcare AI, the constant has been using technology to do things that couldn't be done before. Code is the great equalizer - a solo founder can compete with enterprises if the technology is right.
Problems Over Solutions
I never started with "what cool thing can I build?" I started with "what's broken and why hasn't anyone fixed it?" The best opportunities hide in plain sight, masked by "that's just how it's done."
Heritage as Compass
My Armenian heritage taught me that survival requires adaptation, but identity requires roots. You can innovate in new spaces while staying grounded in timeless values.
The Soundtrack to Building
Every chapter of this journey had its music. The albums that got me through late nights, the artists that matched each era:
The Hustle Years
Eminem, 2Pac, Wu-Tang Clan - aggressive, hungry, determined
The Learning Years
Miles Davis, Coltrane, Chet Baker - complex, patient, improvisational
The Building Years
Pink Floyd, TOOL, Black Sabbath - intense, layered, enduring
Always
Harout Pamboukjian, Aram Asatryan - the reminder of where I come from
What's Next
The story isn't over. AxiaASC is growing. New opportunities are emerging. The mission remains the same: build things that matter, solve problems that need solving, stay true to the values that got me here.
If you're building something too, I'd love to hear about it. The best part of entrepreneurship isn't the exits or the metrics - it's the community of people who understand that building is a way of life.