YEREVAN, Armenia – The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) is excited to announce the launch of a new program: Create Up. Starting June 5, EPIC is accepting applications for the Create Up pre-incubation program. This three-week summer program is meant to help budding entrepreneurs shape their business ideas and strengthen their teams while also preparing them for possible future entry into the EPIC incubator.

Create Up is designed to help participants understand the entrepreneurial mindset and journey and to further their new ideas toward validation while helping them develop a stronger team culture. This program will provide an environment conducive to idea generation, validation, and team building by offering structured mentorship, guided advice, and idea pitching opportunities in order to help the participants become better candidates for the EPIC Incubation Program at AUA. Some of the workshops and team-building activities will be held on the shores of Lake Sevan.

Applications are due on August 4, 2019, and the program will run from August 6 to 26.  

Everyone is welcome to apply for participation in the program, including startups who are at an early stage and need to refine their ideas; groups or individuals who have an interest in entrepreneurship and a preliminary idea to work on (though it is not necessary to have an idea for participation); and startups who do not have fully formed teams, but have a preliminary business idea.

Those who choose to participate as a team may have up to four members and selected teams with three members or less will have an opportunity to recruit new members before the program begins. The program incorporates 60+ hours of training, pitching, feedback and fun over nine sessions! Two of those days will be spent on Lake Sevan (Cilicia Living).

“We are very excited to launch Create Up at EPIC,” said Arman Arakelyan, operations manager at EPIC. “This summer program will combine informative content in a fun and laid-back atmosphere, including “design thinking” ideation sessions and trips to Lake Sevan. We can’t wait to host the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

To learn more about the program or to apply today, visit the EPIC website, the Facebook event page, or email at .