Java.June.2016

LAWDAN SHOJAEE
AXOSOFT CEO & CULTURAL HARVESTER
BY JENNA DUNCAN
PHOTOS: CARRIE EVANS
In an otherwise nondescript building in
Scottsdale, right off the 101 freeway at
Thunderbird, giant windows provide views of
the surrounding mountains. This is where the
Arizona-based software company Axosoft has its
home, and CEO Lawdan Shojaee has her desk in a
shared workspace. It is tempting to stop and gawk
at the amazing views blending Phoenix’s natural
attributes with its modern, expanding cityscape.
But we don’t have time to stand still in this
bustling work environment. And the view is only
one of the many remarkable things that Shojaee
and her squad of developers, code curators, Scrum
masters and company evangelists get to share.
Acknowledged for its unique work environment,
Axosoft was named one of the “Top Companies
to Work for in Arizona” (by CareerBuilder and
Republic Media in 2013). Without the vestiges of
buttoned-down corporate workspaces, employees
can graze freely, moving from a cluster of
computer monitors to a meeting space, kitchen,
gym, shower and, occasionally, a climbing wall.
Shojaee stands in the middle of what resembles
an activities room at an exclusive middle school
for gifted children. There are bookcases filled
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with good reads, cozy chairs, yoga mats and
an impressive collection of Xbox accessories.
Each room off to the east and west is a different
department, for example IT or development, with
sliding glass dividers.
“You are in smaller rooms with others based
upon who you interact with and need the most,”
Shojaee says, describing various tasks and
projects. “We don’t have walls and we don’t have
cubicles.” Developers sit or stand at computer
workstations and freely commingle. Perimeter
walls are covered with white boards, and
employees can even write on the glass doors in
order to work out a certain task or challenge.
In front of the shared space is a large, open
kitchen with coffee makers, microwaves, a spice
rack and the smells of delicious catered lunches.
The kitchen also has three large vertical herb
gardens, growing from a warmly lit hydroponic
system (employees often go home with bags of
fresh cuttings for the weekend).
There is also a shared necklace wall. “The sparkly
one at the top goes to Vegas a lot,” Shojaee says.
“Kids who come here love to wear these [bubbly]
ones. We’ve had a lot of photo shoots with all
of them.” Why have a necklace wall, one might
ask? In case you want to “look a little fancy. It’s a
very subtle way to show that women are wanted
in this space, and that women are honored,”
says Shojaee. It is meant to resonate a certain,
perhaps nonliteral message. At Axosoft there are
also unisex bathrooms with feminine products in
baskets, set out in plain view.
Why worry about women feeling comfortable
in the workspace? When it comes to software
development, the female population has been
traditionally underrepresented. But Shojaee and
her team of innovators and disruptors are taking
on a gender gap that’s been in place not just
decades but likely centuries, and has its roots
not only at work but in education, religion and
the home—deeply entrenched stereotypes with
different ideas of worth and merit for men and
women.
Let’s back up and explain how Shojaee got here in
the first place. Axosoft was started in 2002 as an
“agile project management software.” For those
who don’t know what that is: “We are a very niche
market. Specifically, developers use our tools to