GLENDALE FIRM USES ARMENIAN WORKERS TO CREATE LIFESTYLE APP CATERED TO WOMEN
Glendale News Press, CA
Jan 31 2014
By Tim Traeger, [email protected]
January 31, 2014 | 12:30 p.m.
A Glendale technology company has launched a lifestyle application
for Apple smartphones designed in the United States, but with much
of its development and coding done by workers in Armenia.
The Inlight App, aimed at women, provides mobile access to articles
and lists on topics such as life, love, family and health, according
to Nishe Modoyan, marketing manager for IconApps, Inc.
Apple featured the app, launched Tuesday, as one of the best new
lifestyle applications nearly immediately, she said.
The company has 14 employees, half of whom work in Armenia.
“Social impact is important to our company identity. Currently
unemployment is extremely high in Armenia and the tech field is a great
sector that can help lower those numbers,” Modoyan said. “These highly
skilled jobs don’t depend on your geographic location and this allows
you to earn a good living in your field without having to leave the
country in which you were born and raised.”
IconApps founder and chief executive Al Eisaian said unemployment
might be high within traditional industries in Armenia, but not
in technology.
“They are the best-paying jobs in the market,” said Eisaian, 49, who
was born in Iran but is of Armenian descent. “As far as employment
in the technology sector, Armenian developers can compete with anyone.
There’s a long tradition of technological innovation and standards
in Armenia, even when it was part of the Soviet Union.”
Eisaian said he’s relying on advertising to support the app, as
Inlight can be downloaded for free at Apple’s App Store.
“If you look at Instagram, they (initially) had no revenue or profit.
Eventually a lot of people used them and they figured out how
to monetize it,” Eisaian said. “It takes awhile to figure out the
business model, but we have a very lucrative audience of tech-savvy
women. A lot of brands would be very interested in getting contextual
and valuable advertising messages across.
“It could be awareness-building,” he said. “A diaper company might
want to sell a diaper service to moms. Safeway might want to sell a
delivery service. The monetization will take care of itself.”
Visit to view the app.
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