The beginning
In May 2018, perched on my stool and with a desk fashioned from a board in our room at Exelmans, I started my first DONOS assignment, for a finance startup in Finland.
Nazar joined me soon after, firstly to help me create the company then to take care of the administrative and financial aspects. He rapidly took on the position of administrative and financial director.
At the same time, Ariane advised me and helped me decide to set up a real website, following on from the first version I cobbled together and hosted on Github. Quite quickly, with the help of William, I defined the DONOS assignment and drew up the outlines of my ideal company.
In January 2019, our first employee joined us, then a second, then a third… some stayed… others left but still contributed to building the values that forged our identity and our culture.
DONOS AM
In October, Nazar and I became partners with Gevorg, our cousin living in Armenia, to found DONOS AM. With the support of some Armenian entrepreneurs, we began our first assignments.
After the war in 2020 in Artsakh, which affected us personally, not only did we decide to begin recruiting but also to develop DONOS AM as the nerve centre of DONOS. Indeed, the significant impact on our professional network instilled in us the idea that encouraging economic investments in Armenia would be a non-negligible factor in building lasting peace.
Where we are now
These 5 years of construction have resulted in:
– A team committed to shared values and a unique culture, both in France and Armenia
– A solid network based on the confidence of loyal partners and clients
– A holding company to bring the two DONOS entities together, but also to offer us the possibility of growing our business as opportunities arose
As an idealistic entrepreneur, it was important to me that the company I created worked for my employees and my clients. A lucrative company in which work is an exchange, a partnership, a sharing of ideas. Our employees are kept informed of the figures for each month, whether good or bad. Thus, they are committed alongside us and support us on a daily basis.
This also requires us to refuse to compromise on our values for a seemingly profitable opportunity that in the end would not be beneficial (lack of client commitment, toxic relations, lack of motivation amongst employees, etc.)
It is also a heavy responsibility to constantly go against the current, refuse business or put ourselves in the firing line to defend the company against the many threats that may put it in danger.
Despite all this, good French companies such as Yuka have demonstrated by example that it is possible to advance on a mission path every day, one small victory at a time.
The world can only be changed if a certain discipline is imposed.
Today, we have reached a stage where candidates are excited to join us due to our commitments.
Tomorrow’s mission is to become a impactful company!
To find out more about our adventure since the beginning, you can visit our webpage dedicated to this subject.
Pour en savoir plus sur notre aventure depuis nos débuts, vous pouvez visiter notre page dédiée à ce sujet.
