Astghik Zakharyan

About

How she got here, and what she's built along the way.

Astghik Zakharyan is the founder and CEO of SIA Angel Hub, a Barcelona-founded, transatlantic organization that trains angel investors across Europe and the United States. Since 2021 she's grown it into a community of roughly ten thousand investors and founders across 48 countries. Its flagship is TAAC, a cohort-based investor accelerator now in its tenth edition; SIA also runs several recurring event series for its community, including WIL (Women Investor Lunch), with an emphasis on training more women into angel investing.

Before SIA, she was part of the founding team of ABORA, a venture-building company she and fellow LEINN students created that incubated more than forty student-led startup projects.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation (LEINN) from Mondragon University, with additional studies in the USA, China, and Armenia.

Astghik speaks and lectures on angel investing, startup evaluation, building an investor community from zero, and economic development through ecosystem growth.

In 2024, Astghik was awarded a Top 10 Transformative Leader distinction in the IberoAmerica ecosystem.

English Spanish Armenian Chinese Russian

Speaking

What she's asked to speak on most often.

How to make your first angel investment

A practical walkthrough for first-time investors: sourcing deals, reading a cap table, and deciding how much to put in.

Evaluating early-stage startups

What actually predicts an early startup's odds — and what founders overstate that investors should discount.

Building an investor community from zero

Lessons from growing SIA Angel Hub to a ten-thousand-person network across 48 countries.

Women in angel investing

Why the investor side of startups is still male-dominated, and what's working to change it.

From the stage

▶ How to Get Started with Angel Investing — KeynoteRead the story →

▶ Europe vs. the U.S. in Startup Investment: Strengths, Gaps, and Trade-OffsRead the story →

▶ Importance of Leadership — Interview with Softbank and Alister Moreno of ClikaliaRead the story →

▶ Accessing the VC WorldRead the story →

Appearances · see all writing →

▶ On Radio — Startups and Investments in SpainYouTube

▶ On TV — Economic Development through Angel InvestingRead the story →

▶ Interview with Astghik Zakharyan — MetropolitanRead the story →

Interview on Women Investors in EU, EBAN European Business Angels Network Investors Summit Brussels

EBAN — Women Investors in EU, BrusselsRead the story →

Investor ecosystem between Europe and USA, at Big Bang Investors Congress

Investor Ecosystem, Europe and USABig Bang Investors Congress

Astghik Zakharyan as Shark, at Shark Tank ESADE

As Shark, at Shark Tank ESADEESADE

Award

Award ceremony group photo, Top 100 Líderes Innovadores

“I’m grateful to receive recognition as one of the ‘Top 10 Transformative Leaders’ in the IberoAmerica ecosystem for my contributions to the startup/investor space. It’s humbling to be acknowledged alongside professionals who have shaped this industry for decades.”

Astghik Zakharyan · Top 10 Transformative Leaders, Iberoamerica ecosystem