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A Developing Situation: Tony Oganesian Reflects on how far LigoLab has come Since Beginning as a Start-Up Business in 2006
July 14, 2026
Tony Oganesian grew up in a family of builders. Engineers and architects surrounded him, people responsible for oil rigs, skyscrapers, and power plants. For a time, he assumed he would follow a similar path. But one realization changed everything.
"I had this absolute clumsiness and inability to do anything with my hands," said Oganesian, LigoLab's Chief Technology Officer and the laboratory information system software architect behind the all-in-one LigoLab Informatics Platform.
"When I discovered a programmable calculator in seventh grade, I realized there was a narrow path to being called an engineer without having to build anything physically," he said. “That moment revealed the power of virtual environments. "I saw the advantages immediately. Even someone clumsy like me could create something meaningful."
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From Armenia to America: The Road That Led to LigoLab
Born in Armenia and raised in Russia, Oganesian earned his first degree in mathematical economics before immigrating to the United States in his mid-20s, driven by academic ambition and an entrepreneurial mindset. Early in his career, he worked as a consultant during the height of Y2K concerns, when the internet was still in its infancy.
"There simply weren't many people who understood how to work with emerging technologies," he said. "That gap created opportunity."
It was then that Oganesian made a pivotal decision, shifting away from a traditional scientific career to focus on developing diagnostic lab software and pathology and clinical laboratory management systems. That choice would later help shape the future of modern LIS software platforms.
From Start-Up to Industry Leader: How Oganesian Helped Build LigoLab Into a Laboratory Information System Powerhouse
Joining Forces With a Shared Vision
In 2006, Oganesian joined forces with LigoLab co-founders Edward Kharatian (President) and Suren Avunjian (CEO). At the time, Kharatian and Avunjian had just launched LigoLab as an anatomic pathology software start-up, seeking a developer with the technical depth and long-term vision required to fulfill early commitments to their first laboratory information system customers.
Oganesian was a natural fit. Like his future partners, he had seen firsthand the operational disorder common across pathology groups and clinical laboratories, and recognized an industry overdue for transformation.
"I saw a fragmented landscape. Existing medical LIS software solutions weren't even scratching the surface of what was possible. There was a tremendous opportunity to do better," he said.
Building Something Better From the Ground Up
From those early days, the three founders worked in close partnership, aligned by a shared belief that laboratory software systems should bring structure, intelligence, and scalability to complex laboratory workflow. What began as a focused anatomic pathology LIS start-up has since evolved into a leading lab organization software solution, designed to replace chaos with clarity and position labs for long-term growth through a modern, all-in-one informatics platform for LIS system workflow and laboratory billing management.
A Comprehensive, Flexible, and Growth-Driven Medical LIS and Lab Billing Platform
What Truly Differentiates LigoLab
Comprehensive End-to-End Coverage
First, LigoLab is a truly comprehensive informatics solution.
"We cover the entire spectrum of what a medical laboratory needs to operate," said Oganesian. "We support every aspect of their business, and that breadth is a major differentiator."
From the initial physician engagement to final report delivery, and every clinical, operational, and financial lab workflow in between, LigoLab provides complete, end-to-end coverage within its unified lab database software platform.
Internal Configurability Without Vendor Dependency
Second, the LigoLab platform is highly flexible and internally configurable. Unlike legacy clinical and pathology LIS systems that impose rigid workflows and dictate how organizations must operate, LigoLab adapts to each lab's unique processes. Customers can tailor configurations, rules, and workflows to match their specific needs, rather than forcing their operations to conform to the LIS medical application.
Aligned Pricing That Shares Success
The third differentiator reflects a foundational principle of the LIS company: alignment with its laboratory partners. LigoLab's transactional LIS model for pricing, offered across four distinct tiers, intentionally aligns business interests, ensuring that value, growth, and long-term success are shared between LigoLab and the laboratories it serves.
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A Business Model Built on Long-Term Partnership, Not Licensing Fees
"Our business model isn't about selling a license, collecting fees, and then disappearing until it's time to push an upgrade," said Oganesian. "That's simply not how we operate."
Instead, LigoLab is fundamentally invested in the ongoing success of its laboratory partners.
"We're committed to helping our labs process increasing volumes so they can pursue new opportunities and grow faster," Oganesian explained. "That commitment is built directly into our LIS model. When our partners identify opportunities for expansion, growth, or collaboration, we respond differently, because it's in our best interest to move quickly and deliver the best possible LIS software solutions to support their success."
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A Standardized, Configurable Informatics Platform Designed to Scale With Every Lab
All enhancements and configurations developed by LigoLab's engineering team are built on a single, standardized laboratory information system software platform. Rather than creating one-off custom solutions for individual laboratories, LigoLab continuously adds new laboratory information system functions to a shared, highly configurable informatics platform available to every customer.
This approach delivers a stable, reliable, and rigorously tested LIS system software, while still giving laboratories the flexibility to tailor workflows, rules, and configurations to their unique operational needs. The result is a platform that combines consistency with adaptability, enabling clinical laboratories and pathology practices to scale efficiently, improve service levels, and support long-term growth.
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Transforming Medical Laboratories With Modern LIS Systems
LigoLab is a premier healthcare technology LIS company specializing in advanced clinical and pathology lab software solutions that optimize operations, enhance efficiency, and streamline lab revenue cycle management.
Since its founding in 2006, LigoLab has revolutionized the meaning of “informatics” with its all-in-one platform, seamlessly integrating a laboratory information system (LIS) and laboratory billing platform into a single, unified diagnostic lab software solution. This approach eliminates the need for multiple systems, reduces complexity, and drives profitability for laboratories.
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End-to-End Workflow Coverage With Intelligent Automation and Insight
LigoLab supports every phase of laboratory workflow management, from order entry and specimen processing to reporting, compliance, and laboratory billing. The platform leverages automation and intelligent, rules-driven workflows to reduce errors, accelerate turnaround times, and maintain regulatory compliance.
A defining strength of the platform is its flexibility and scalability. LigoLab adapts seamlessly to laboratories of all sizes and specialties, including clinical, reference, anatomic pathology, and molecular diagnostics environments. Built-in data analytics and business intelligence tools provide real-time operational and financial insights, enabling lab leaders to make faster, more informed decisions.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, LigoLab serves independent laboratories, pathology groups, and specialty diagnostic labs nationwide and is widely recognized for its customer-first support model and commitment to continuous innovation.
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Frequently Asked Questions About LigoLab's History, LIS Software Platform, and Partnership Model
How did LigoLab get started, and what was the original vision?
LigoLab was founded in 2006 by Suren Avunjian (CEO) and Edward Kharatian (President), two professionals who had experienced firsthand the operational fragmentation of pathology groups and clinical laboratories and saw a tremendous opportunity to build something better. They were joined by Tony Oganesian as Chief Technology Officer, whose background in diagnostic lab software development gave the LIS company the technical foundation needed to build a truly comprehensive and configurable laboratory information system from the ground up.
What made the laboratory information system landscape fragmented in LigoLab's early days?
Oganesian describes the pre-LigoLab landscape as one where existing LIS software solutions were not scratching the surface of what was technically possible. Labs commonly used disconnected systems for different departments, relied on manual workflows, and had limited ability to configure their software to match their actual operations. This fragmentation created an opportunity to build a unified, intelligent, and scalable informatics platform that brought structure and clarity to complex laboratory workflows.
What are the three core differentiators that set LigoLab apart from other LIS software vendors?
The three differentiators are comprehensive end-to-end coverage, supporting every clinical, operational, and financial workflow within a single platform; high internal configurability, enabling labs to tailor workflows and rules without vendor intervention; and an aligned pricing model, where LigoLab's four-tier transactional pricing structure ties the company's success directly to the growth and performance of its laboratory partners rather than to upfront licensing fees.
How does LigoLab's business model differ from traditional LIS software licensing?
Traditional LIS vendors sell software licenses, collect implementation fees, and often disengage until an upgrade cycle begins. LigoLab's LIS model is fundamentally different: the company is invested in each lab partner's ongoing success because its transactional pricing means LigoLab grows only when its lab partners grow. This alignment motivates LigoLab to respond quickly to partner opportunities, continuously enhance the platform, and provide the level of service and support to help labs process more and pursue new business.
How does LigoLab maintain platform consistency while still offering deep customization?
All enhancements and configurations developed by LigoLab's engineering team are developed on a single, standardized platform rather than as one-off custom solutions for individual labs. This ensures the platform remains stable, rigorously tested, and reliable across all customer environments, while still enabling each laboratory to configure workflows, rules, reports, and integrations to match its unique operational needs. The result is a combination of consistency and adaptability that legacy LIS systems cannot replicate.
What diagnostic disciplines and lab types does LigoLab's platform support?
LigoLab's all-in-one platform supports clinical laboratories, anatomic pathology groups, reference and molecular diagnostics labs, genomics organizations, toxicology labs, and specialty diagnostic environments. Its flexible, tiered architecture empowers labs of all sizes, from emerging start-ups to large regional and national operations, to access the same enterprise-grade platform and scale seamlessly as their testing volume and operational complexity grow.
How does Tony Oganesian's background influence the way LigoLab builds its LIS software platform?
Oganesian's grounding in mathematical economics and his early experience navigating the emerging technology landscape of the late 1990s gave him a strong foundation in building systems that solve complex, real-world operational problems. His recognition that existing LIS software was failing to deliver on what was technically possible drove LigoLab's commitment to building a platform that is not just feature-rich but genuinely adaptive, one designed to grow with each lab partner rather than constrain it.
