Wednesday, June 02, 2004 • Volume 3, Issue 1 > Third Anniversary Edition
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Wednesday, June 02, 2004 • Volume 3, Issue 1 > Third Anniversary Edition |
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Argo Tea  Entrepreneur: Arsen Avakian, General
ManagerAddress: 958 W. Armitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614 Phone: 312-873-4123 Website: http://www.argotea.com/ Email: arsen@argotea.com Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center's 2 cents worth: Argo is one of those ideas that is simplistic, yet so genius, you'd just kick yourself that it wasn't yours. Take a healthy product, a contemporary space and stick it on one of the busiest corners in Lincoln Park and you have Argo Tea. Their flagship store is always bustling with activity. The three founders, who turned from corporate executives in the dot-com world to tea connoisseurs, haven't looked back. Tell us your company's story. The brainchild of three corporate executives who were not having fun anymore in the dot.com world, Argo Tea was spawned by the partners' European heritage and love for all things tea-related. In June 2003, Argo Tea opened its flagship café, in Lincoln Park, at the corner of Armitage and Sheffield and more stores are underway. Argo Tea is building a chain of contemporary cafés that offer healthy teas from around the world, signature tea-based beverages, teaware and gourmet foods. The company is tapping into a large and emerging market, while providing a healthy alternative to consumers. Argo Tea wants to do for tea what Starbucks did for coffee. What lessons have you learned as an entrepreneur? Entering entirely new industries, retail and food service, we realized the importance and challenges of effective human resources management. What has been your proudest moment as an entrepreneur? Successfully executing our business plan from the early days of opening. What does being an entrepreneur mean to you? The ability to bring insight and to make an impact by creating something new. How has the CEC impacted your company? The CEC provided networking opportunities and integration with the Chicagoland business community. For example, they assisted with our public relations efforts and made introductions to the local media. The CEC also assisted our company with growth and financing plans while navigating through the City of Chicago's departments and processes in opening our café. What is your company's outlook for the future? The second phase of Argo Tea's growth is focused on expanding to four or five more select retail locations. We will also continue to build a scalable distribution infrastructure for our wholesale business. What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs? Plan, focus, execute and sell. About Arsen Avakian Prior to founding Argo Tea, Arsen Avakian was Vice President of i2 Technologies, responsible for global corporate business development and the firm's ventures group. His experience includes a number of years in software technology and management consulting industries. Arsen completed his MBA as a Fulbright Scholar in Chicago and has a Bachelor of Computer Science from the Engineering University of Armenia. [PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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        This publication has been developed through a partnership in cooperation with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center as a service to Illinois small businesses under cooperative agreement # 0-7620-0014-18. |
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