Java.June.2016

has also participated in the Sally Conference
for Women in Tech and conducted Women Who
CODE and Girls Develop IT meet-ups.) Shojaee
says that the speaking events and conferences
are an important part of Axosoft’s outreach.
Axosoft has committed to a model where their
developers work together, in person, much of the
time. All of the developers are local, and they
rarely work remotely. They do occasionally have
“Remote Work Wednesdays,” Shojaee says, but
they rotate through team members, so they don’t
have many missing at the same time.
Applying Shojaee’s knowledge of physical therapy,
with an attitude about embracing work as an
integral part of life, Axosoft has intentionally built
out the workspace so people will stay longer.
Shojaee expects her employees to work mostly
nine-hour days. That is why they have the gym,
showers and other amenities, such as a large,
comfortable lunchroom. “We have what I think is
the best wellness program of any company,” she
says. “Other companies give you a pedometer or
they kick you $50 to join a gym, but who knows if
anyone even does that.”
The idea of the nine hours is that nobody is
keeping track of one another. “There are many
business schools that say if you have friends at
work, you are happier at work. So we create an
environment conducive to that here.
“I don’t believe in work–life balance, I believe in
work–life integration,” Shojaee says.
“Our interview process is about four to five hours
long,” she says. They screen potential employees
first by phone to see if the candidates will answer
silly questions, indicating they have an easygoing
personality and a sense of humor. If they pass
the phone interview, they will meet with two
associates. If those fellow employees give the
thumbs-up, they will move to the next HR round.
“I’ve hired people who were right skillset-wise but
not the right company culture fit, and I’ve had to
let them go,” Shojaee says.
Another benefit of working at Axosoft is that
they provide a sort of in-house incubator period.
In the summers, they give developers 30 days
of paid time off to work on their own individual
software projects. Axosoft even offers incentives
to employees who choose to move closer to the
office ($1,500 to $5,000). Some employees ride
skateboards to work.
Last year, the staff banded together and completed
the Spartan Race with a team of 25 employees
and spouses. They trained for almost a year prior
to competing. It was crazy, according to Shojaee,
but really valuable as a team-building effort.
“Nothing takes forever here. We move so quickly
that sometimes speed is the issue,” Shojaee says.
“We’d rather put something out there and have it
fail than be stuck on it forever.” The emphasis is still
on producing quality products, but if something
doesn’t work for clients, then they can always
rescind. “The sooner you catch it, the better. Then
you iterate and move forward,” she says.
Just as the Spartan Race runs on endurance and
high energy, the leader of this successful Valley
tech company is always on her toes—steering,
motivating, inspiring and investing in the
community. “Tech is getting somewhere now in
Arizona,” Shojaee says.
www.axosoft.com
JAVA 15
MAGAZINE