Nare Vardanyan’s story is a tale of resilience, hope, and unshakable optimism. From her humble beginnings in war-torn Armenia to becoming the CEO and co-founder of Ntropy, a company that has raised over $14 million to revolutionize financial data analysis, Nare’s journey is both inspiring and enlightening. Her relentless pursuit of innovation and success in the face of adversity offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and dreamers alike.
Early Life in Armenia: A Generation Shaped by War
Nare was born in Armenia, a small country in the southern Caucasus, during a tumultuous period following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Her childhood was deeply affected by war, with regular power outages and scarce resources. Despite the harsh conditions, Nare’s outlook on life remained positive.
“Hope is an important thing. Believing that there’s a lot of good in the world, that the world is a beautiful place, and there’s so much out there – that type of optimism is the most important thing,” she reflects.
Her early experiences of living in a conflict-ridden region were pivotal in shaping her drive to create change. Even in desperate conditions, Nare maintained a sense of optimism that would later fuel her entrepreneurial journey.
A Glimpse Beyond Armenia: Discovering a Bigger World
Nare’s first exposure to the world outside Armenia came at the age of 14 or 15, when she participated in a public speaking competition that took her to the UK. This experience was transformative, igniting a desire to be part of something bigger than herself.
“The world is much bigger, there are so many different people, and there’s so much to do. I definitely wanted to be a part of it,” she recalls.
Her early years were filled with volunteer work, which eventually led her to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), focusing on financial inclusion. This was the beginning of her quest to make a meaningful impact on the world.
A New Beginning in London: Studying at UCL and Discovering AI
Nare’s passion for creating change led her to apply for a master’s degree at University College London (UCL). This decision would introduce her to the world of artificial intelligence (AI). At UCL, she was surrounded by some of the brightest minds, including those at DeepMind, one of the leading AI research labs.
“The atmosphere was electrifying. Everyone was talking about how transformative AI could be. I knew I didn’t have a background in it, but I wanted to be a part of that world.”
She pushed through the imposter syndrome and worked tirelessly to bridge the gap in her knowledge, starting with Andrew Ng’s renowned machine learning course from Stanford. This set the foundation for her future in tech, even though she had to start from zero.
The First Entrepreneurial Venture: Mindbin
Nare’s entrepreneurial journey began with a project aimed at addressing mental health issues in children and teenagers through Mindbin. The idea was to detect early signs of behavioral and mental health issues based on how young people interacted with their phones.
“If you didn’t understand those issues early, it would affect their school performance, and they would eventually have bigger problems down the line.”
Mindbin combined the research of her co-founder, who specialized in bipolar disorder, and Nare’s desire to make an impact on mental health. However, while the concept was promising, the startup faced significant hurdles, especially with privacy laws in the EU and California. The restrictions on accessing data from phones, particularly iPhones, made it nearly impossible for their technology to work effectively.
Despite some success with Mercer as a client, the startup ultimately faced too many technical and legal challenges to scale, leading to its dissolution.
The Birth of Ntropy: Revolutionizing Financial Data
After the experience with Mindbin, Nare found herself at a crossroads. She was determined to continue her entrepreneurial journey, but also needed financial stability. She took on a job with the London Co-Investment Fund, which allowed her to work with other entrepreneurs while earning an income.
It wasn’t long before she and a friend from her Techstars network, Ilya, co-founded Ntropy. The company’s mission is to build language models that understand financial data at scale, regardless of the source, format, language, or currency. The idea was born out of their recognition that financial institutions often deal with messy transaction data that is difficult to interpret and manage.
“Every time we pay for something, whether it’s online or at a point of sale, a trace of that transaction is created. It’s a string of text that lives in the bank’s computer, but it’s often messy and unstructured.”
Ntropy aimed to solve this problem by using AI to make financial data understandable and usable. However, like any startup, Ntropy faced its own set of challenges. One of the biggest was the chicken-and-egg problem: the AI needed good data to improve, but they didn’t have enough good data to start with.
Overcoming the Data Problem: Customer-Driven Innovation
Ntropy’s early success was driven by its innovative approach to solving the data problem. They launched a consumer-facing web page where users could upload their bank transactions, and Ntropy would help them understand what the transactions were about. This allowed them to start building a data set to train their models.
“The results were questionable at first, but the more data we collected and the more customers used it, the better the system became.”
Nare emphasizes the importance of getting the product into customers’ hands early. By doing so, Ntropy was able to improve its models based on real-world feedback and data, which ultimately made the platform more effective.
Learning to Focus: The Power of Niche Markets
One of the most critical lessons Nare learned along the way was the importance of focusing on a niche. Ntropy initially aimed to build a horizontal platform that could serve any financial service provider, but this broad approach made it difficult to market effectively.
“It’s always easier to start from a niche and then expand. You need to have a very defined customer type and a clear message before you go horizontal.”
By focusing on specific customer needs, Ntropy was able to hone its product and message, which made it easier to gain traction in the market.
The Challenges of Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship
Just two days after Ntropy raised its seed round, Nare received unexpected news—she was pregnant. The challenge of balancing her identity as a CEO and a mother was daunting. She feared that she might not be able to excel in both roles.
“I was scared that I wouldn’t do a great job, that I’d fail as a mom, or that I’d have resentment if I couldn’t give my all to either part of my life.”
Despite her fears, Nare found support from her board, co-founder, and colleagues, which helped her navigate this new chapter in her life. She emerged stronger, realizing that she didn’t have to sacrifice her ambitions as an entrepreneur to be a great mother.
Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs
Nare’s journey offers several key takeaways for aspiring entrepreneurs:
1. Optimism is Essential
In the face of adversity, maintaining a sense of optimism is crucial. Nare’s belief in the beauty of the world and its possibilities kept her going through tough times.
2. Start Small, Then Scale
Instead of trying to solve every problem at once, Nare learned the importance of starting with a niche and expanding from there.
3. Customer Feedback is Key
Getting your product into the hands of customers early, even if it’s not perfect, can lead to valuable feedback that improves the product over time.
4. Resilience in the Face of Failure
Nare’s first venture, Mindbin, didn’t succeed, but she didn’t let that stop her from pursuing her entrepreneurial dreams. Resilience is a vital trait for any entrepreneur.
5. Work-Life Balance is Possible
Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship is challenging, but it’s possible with the right support and mindset.
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