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A Brother and Sister Venture: The Story of Harsanik.com

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  • A Brother and Sister Venture: The Story of Harsanik.com

    A Brother and Sister Venture: The Story of Harsanik.com
    by Shantal Der Boghosian

    http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/03/07/a-brother-and-sister-venture-the-story-of-harsanik-com/
    March 7, 2013

    It's difficult to imagine a world where information isn't readily
    available to us. We have become accustomed to an easy internet search
    from our smart phones any time we need to find an address, phone
    number, or even vendor reviews. But a little over a decade ago most of
    us were still looking up contact information in the yellow p



    Harsanik.com was started by a brother and sister duo, Garen Khanoyan
    and Marineh (Khanoyan) Tchakerian
    ages, or asking friends of a friend for a phone number of a caterer
    they liked. In short, it was not easy to find the information you
    needed to plan a party, wedding, or event. This very problem was the
    inspiration behind Harsanik.com, a comprehensive online directory of
    vendors catering to wedding services around the greater Los Angeles
    area. Harsanik means `wedding' in Armenian.

    Harsanik.com was started by a brother and sister duo, Garen Khanoyan
    and Marineh (Khanoyan) Tchakerian. The idea for the website was
    conceived in 2005 while they were discussing the challenges their
    friends faced while planning their weddings; many of the vendors at
    the time did not have websites and were difficult to contact. Garen
    and Marineh's goal was to simplify the lives of those planning a
    wedding, and to help wedding vendors be easily found by potential
    brides and grooms, and see their businesses grow. `Whether it
    succeeded or not, we would have been happy if we created something
    useful for the community,' the duo told me.

    The creation of Harsanik.com was no easy feat. The most challenging
    task for Garen and Marineh was finding a way to make time for their
    website idea while also working at their full-time jobs. Garen holds a
    bachelor's and master's degree from USC in electrical engineering and
    computer science, and Marineh holds a degree from USC in business
    administration with an emphasis in marketing. Their unique skills
    provided a combination that would be important to the success of an
    online business. Garen focuses on the technical aspect of the
    business, including the continuous development, maintenance, and
    optimization of the website. Marineh focuses on all aspects of
    marketing and sales, including developing content, partnering with
    vendors to help promote the site, and managing all advertising sales.

    The duo began working on the website in December 2005, and during the
    development phase decided to create a categorized online directory
    (banquet halls, florists, DJ, etc.) completely free for both vendors
    and people to use. They felt that in order for the website to be truly
    helpful for the community, it had to be free. To this day Harsanik.com
    is a free service for users and vendors, and will remain so to serve
    the community to its fullest. After 15 months of solid development and
    long hours juggling their full-time jobs, Harsanik.com launched in
    March 2007.

    When asked what motivated them to push through the long hours to see
    Harsanik.com to fruition, Garen and Marineh agreed that their number
    one focus was to help the Armenian community. `We knew our business
    would have a big impact on both those planning a wedding and vendors
    who cater to the Armenian wedding industry.' However, the initial
    challenge they faced was to gain public acceptance of the website
    concept. Most businesses were reluctant to receive a free basic
    listing on their website. They suspected fraud since they had never
    heard of Harsanik.com and did not believe they would benefit from a
    free service. Others were very skeptical of the idea and did not think
    the concept would work, but that motivated Garen and Marineh to work
    even harder.

    By 2008 the website had gained traction and enjoyed a steady growth of
    online traffic, as well as a vendor and user base. `We started
    receiving countless emails from users and vendors thanking us for
    building a great resource for the Armenian community, and it's that
    positive feedback that pushes us to keep working on the site and
    continue improving it.' They soon realized the added potential for
    helping the greater community by allowing users to share their
    experiences, and launched a ratings and reviews system as part of
    their directory. As the website continued to grow, the team focused on
    creating great experiences for their users, maintaining a high-quality
    site, and never compromising their integrity and core business values.
    They maintain an unbiased and fair system towards all businesses they
    work with.

    In 2009 the Harsanik.com team expanded the business further by
    producing an upscale bridal show. They chose to partner with Christine
    Zohrabians of `Fancy That! Events' to organize the bridal event. The
    show was a huge success with hundreds of brides and over a thousand
    guests attending, proving that there was a high demand for a bridal
    show targeting Armenians. After receiving positive feedback from
    vendors and guests, Garen and Marineh decided to continue the bridal
    shows annually.

    But what is it that motivates them to pull in long hours into the
    business? `It might sound crazy, but running a wedding website is
    actually a lot of fun. We have met so many amazing people through this
    business that we would never have had the chance to meet. We've both
    learned so much by running our own business, both professionally and
    personally. The experience of having our own `side project' that has
    blossomed into a full online business has taught us many lessons, and
    we are confident there's much more for us to learn on the Harsanik.com
    journey. `

    Marineh (Khanoyan) Tchakerian is a Product Marketing Manager at
    Intuit. She has been with Intuit for 7 years, working on the product
    development and marketing of the TurboTax product. In 2011, she won
    the Scott Cook Innovation Award, which allowed her to spend 3 months
    in the Intuit UK office where she launched a pilot for a brand new
    mobile payment product in the UK. Garen Khanoyan has been working at
    the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 15 years as a software and hardware
    engineer. He has worked on the last two Mars rover missions and is
    currently working on a perception system for autonomous helicopters
    and next generation decelerators for Mars landers.



    Apricot Yogurt Cake

    Modified from thegutsygourmet.net.

    The following recipe produces a coarse-crumbed cake; for ease of
    slicing, dip your knife in hot water before cutting each serving.

    Ingredients:
    -Two 8-ounce containers plain yogurt
    -2 cups all-purpose flour
    -1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
    -1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    -1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
    -1/2 cup sugar
    -2 large eggs
    -3/4 cup dried apricots, chopped fine
    -1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
    -about 1/2 cup orange honey syrup (recipe follows)

    Preparation:
    Let the yogurt drain in a fine sieve set over a bowl, covered and
    chilled, overnight and measure out 1 cup of the drained yogurt,
    reserving the remaining yogurt for another use.

    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch spring form pan.
    Into another bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, the
    baking soda, and a pinch of salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer,
    cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy,
    beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and
    beat in the one-cup drained yogurt until the mixture is just combined.
    Add the flour mixture, beat the batter until it is just combined, and
    stir in the apricots and walnuts.

    Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake in the middle
    of the oven for 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out with a few
    crumbs adhering to it. Put the cake in the pan on a rack set over
    foil, pour the orange honey syrup (see below) over it, and let the
    cake absorb the syrup. The cake may be made two days in advance and
    kept in the pan covered with plastic wrap and foil, and chilled.
    Remove the side of the pan and garnish the cake with the mint sprigs.

    Orange Honey Syrup:
    -1 cup honey
    -1/2 cup fresh orange juice
    -1/2 cup water
    -1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh orange zest

    Preparation:
    In a heavy saucepan, combine the honey, the orange juice, the water,
    and the zest and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 20
    minutes, or until it is reduced to 1 1/3 cups. (If the syrup is
    reduced too much, it becomes too thick and too sweet.) Let the syrup
    cool. The syrup may be made one week in advance and kept, covered, at
    room temperature.


    From: Baghdasarian
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