This YouTube interview centers on Vaj (Vaj Shofsepian) describing his life from Armenia to the US, his career path into ServiceTitan, and his commitment to improving others and giving back to Armenia. Colleagues and leaders reflect on supportive leadership (notably Vach), company core values (changing lives), anecdotes about founders Baha and Ara, and the opening of a new ServiceTitan office in Armenia as a way to create local opportunity and fulfill personal/community aspirations.
My name is Vaj Shofsepian. I was born and raised in Armenia. I moved to the US when I was 18, got my education here, started my career in banking, did about 10 years, and then I transitioned to management consulting. And then about four and a half years ago is when I joined ServiceTech. I'm a huge believer in making people around you better. That's a way that I can drive some positive changes. The only way I'm gonna get away, what keeps me coming and wanting to be here and be part of the team is first and foremost the people and then the mission of the company. Hi, Kathy.
I always appreciate how Voch is able and willing to get into the trenches with us. He's not one of those leaders that kind of sits up in an ivory tower like, you guys all do your thing. I'm up here and I'm chilling. He's always the first one to parachute into a situation and rally the team together and build up that momentum that, like, this is a really hard situation. So he doesn't sugarcoat it either. It's like the right balance of being real with us, but also being really positive and giving us the energy to get through it together.
The other thing I feel like he does really well is he understands the story of the people that he's working with. So although he'll like, come in and get into the trenches, like, he'll also be like, you've got this, like, you go figure it out. And you know he's with you every single step of the way. But he's never micromanaged. Like, I have never felt micromanaged by him.
No, it's just support.
Yeah, exactly.
It's just support. And I would tell him what my goal was and he would tell me what steps to take. It wasn't that he was giving me the vision for where I was gonna go, but he always asked me, like, to think about in three to five years, like, what do I want to do? Do I want to be working with service titan, starting my own business? And he always made sure that whatever my long term goal was, that I had that in mind when I was making decisions and what I wanted to do at the company. And it's like, totally shaped the steps I've taken and the whole way through, like, it's always nice to just know that, like, he's in that room with his headphones in, but the second he.
Sees you, he's like, he just does the botch. Like leg cross.
Exactly.
Let's talk about what do you mean.
By that stretches his beard a little.
He goes like, you get to see what weird socks he has on.
Or the no socks now. I don't know what happened there.
That's t styling.
It's the ankles.
I'm surrounded by extraordinary individuals who give their all to make a difference in people's lives. That's one of our values. Core values is changing lives and we strive to do that both for our customers and for our people. So this is our new office in Armenia. Sirstein was founded by Baha and Ara. Vaha and I go way back. I've known him for a little over 10 years and I actually met Ara about seven or eight years ago. One of the biggest contributing factors to our success is first and foremost them, obviously as individuals, but also how well they work and operate together.
They always say people start companies to solve a problem that they had. We coincidentally started the company to solve a problem that our parents had.
They're very similar when it comes to core values, the things that they believe in. There's a certain level of brotherhood and friendship that is beyond anything I've seen. First time we went to a trade show and they were having dinner, so Vahed ordered a burger. Ara had ordered a salad and they got to half of their meals and then they literally just looked at each other and they switched their plates without even talking to each other. So that's when I was like, okay. It's almost like a type of relationship that you'll see in a family and I think that's really special. The reason why we're opening the Armenia office now is because we have a big need in the business. Vaha and I started talking about the potential of me joining. I shared my long term plans about wanting to drive some sort of positive change in Armenia. Yeah. I essentially asked for his commitment that if we get to a point as a company where it would make sense for us and there would be an opportunity, we'll pursue it.
The most important driver of success in any tech company is its talent.
What makes Vach an ideal person to take on this effort is he's led the entire post sale customer facing team that is now numbering in the hundreds.
Yeah. I've never met somebody at the company who doesn't say, like, I just feel better after I talk to him. Like the outcome of the conversation is, you know, somebody understands even if you don't know how to solve the problem. Like he, he. Every, every step of the way. I've always been like, yeah, we're fine. We've got botch we're going to be okay.
Going on holiday. I'm gonna pack and go to Armenia. What, for work? Yeah. The reason it's important for me is because I feel like this takes my journey full circle to the next. So this is a essay I wrote. First English class I took here, January 20, 2002 essay. And the most fascinating part is that it's like a three page essay. And vast majority talks about how I'm in school, I'm in college so that I can educate myself, make something out of myself, and then give back to Armenia. Somehow my family's strong and positive attitude towards education is the most important reason I'm in college today and that I understand and value the importance of education. My dad always says that the future of any nation heavily depends on the young generation and that each young man or woman should feel responsible for not only his or her future, but also the future of his or her family and the future of his or her nation.
I keep thinking about your dad and, you know, being part of that generation who wanted independence for Armenia, and then once they got it, they were almost forced out. And then kind of his dream that his kids would be powerful enough in this new country to then go back. Now you get to do that. It's just amazing that it comes full circle and now for our kids, Armenia is no longer a bubble. Armenia is no longer the backward country that, you know, their grandparents had to leave because they couldn't survive there. Armenia now is this place of potential excitement.
Yeah.
This place of excitement. This place that dad goes.
Yeah. Dad has an office. There's people working in the office. Yeah. Like, man, dreams do come true.
Okay, I'm a crier, guys.
So this continues.
Vach is just like the best dad. He brings his kids by the office and they're drawn on the walls. And it was, like, super personal for me because I've had, like, an estranged relationship with my son for such a long time. But then seeing Voch be here as much as I was and still be the best dad. My son lives here now. I get to take him to school. He gets to come into the office and draw on the walls. And he has a personal relationship with Vach.
All right, so we're having family dinner. We usually partner together to make dinner. The reason we're having this dinner tonight is because I'm traveling to Armenia. What I sincerely hope is that our move into Armenia will ignite a lot of energy around people who live in Armenia and people who have left Armenia just like me.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I can't read. Looking back, I actually had an amazing childhood. I would love to replicate that for my kids. This is my high school. That was our school bus. This is where I went to high school.
This was Papa's high school.
We didn't have much, but we were very happy. This is my first job, guys. This is where I work. My parents made a decision to move to the US Primarily to give us better opportunity, establish ourselves as adults, as professionals. And it was always sort of instilled in all of us that as successful as we become, we should never forget where we came from. You have to care about the people. You have to care about where you come from. And that's responsible for my decision to get involved with our operation. In Army, Sam.
