Press kit

Everything here is free to use without asking. Name spelling is Aram Shakhbandaryan, preferred title is co-founder and CEO of Decato. Based in Yerevan, available for remote interviews across European and US hours.

Bios

Short For event pages, intros, and speaker blurbs.
Long For media kits, podcast notes, and investor context.
Headshot JPEG, 2000 by 2000, head and shoulders. Also as 4:5 for articles. Credit not required.

Background

Dates and titles for fact-checking. Employment is verifiable against LinkedIn; the training practice and the early agency are my own account.

Where I have worked

Decato2026 to now
co-founder and CEO
Advising2025 to now
applied AI GTM and marketing: Pink Elephant, Armenian Code Academy, CTAD
Empy.ai2021 to 2026
co-founder and CEO
Training and retreats2020 to 2024
communication, for senior managers
Google2020 to 2021
analytical consultant
inKin2019 to 2020
product manager
Krisp2019
senior marketing manager
Cryptology2017 to 2018
product marketing team lead, Singapore
Artec 3D2016 to 2017
product marketing manager
adidas Group2014 to 2016
performance marketing
A digital agency of my ownat eighteen
websites and marketing

Where I studied

Higher School of Economicsfrom 2021
master's in psychoanalysis under Andrey Rossokhin, left in the second year
Russian State University for the Humanities2013 to 2018
bachelor's in marketing
British College of Banking and Finance2012 to 2013
BCom
First Generation Foundationsince 2015
private network of founders and operators, founded in Moscow in 2012, 172 members, entered through its two-year programme
Draper Universitysummer 2024
Startup Hero programme
Plug and Play Armenia2026
batch three

Awards

Burning Heroes2024
one of nine finalists, San Francisco; live pitch at Plug and Play Silicon Valley
ECDMA2025
Gold in Startup Success; Digital Startup Awards semifinal winner and finalist
Changellenge Cup KalugaApril 2013
second place, case-study championship; certificate on request

Press

THE TECH, founder interview covering adidas, Google, and starting up in Yerevan. 2026, in Russian
Voice of America, quoted on leaving Google Moscow and settling in Yerevan. 2022, in Russian
Enterprise Incubator Foundation, quoted as Empy reaches the Digital Startup Award semifinals. 2025, in English
ECDMA, semifinal winner of the Digital Startup Awards, plus Gold in Startup Success. 2025, in English
How2B, on Empy launching on Product Hunt. 2023, in Armenian

Mentions and listings

AI9 Startup Campus, billed to run a free workshop on installing Hermes and launching a first AI agent. May 2026, in English
Ministry of High-Tech Industry of Armenia, decato.ai named among the eighteen startups that pitched at Plug and Play's Batch 3 Expo. The pitch is on video. July 2026, in English

Speaking and pitching

Pitching Empy to a seated audience, a slide reading "Empathy begins with self empathy" on the screen behind, Burning Heroes banners on both sides — Burning Heroes live pitch at Plug and Play Silicon Valley, May 2024. One of nine finalists.

Speaking into a microphone outdoors among pine trees, in front of a Sevan Startup Summit 2025 Acceleration Zone banner, judges seated at tables in front — Pitching Empy in the Acceleration Zone at Sevan Startup Summit 2025, on the shore of Lake Sevan.

Seven people standing in front of a Digital Startup Awards Grand Finale backdrop carrying the logos of IT Park Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Digital Technologies — Digital Startup Awards grand finale, IT Park Uzbekistan, 2025, as a finalist after the semifinal round.

Standing beside a projected slide reading "What Do You Want to Build?" in front of a room of people working on laptops — Workshop on installing an agent and shipping a first build. AI9 Startup Campus, Yerevan, May 2026.

Podcasts and launches

Непростые Люди, an hour on leaving Google, retreats, and building Empy. 2023, 57 minutes, in Russian
Чувственный бизнес, on building a company without burning out. In Russian
Product Hunt, three Empy launches. The best one placed second product of the day with 203 upvotes. 2023 to 2025