Armine Alajian of Alajian Group On Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup

An Interview With Doug Noll

Doug Noll
Authority Magazine
Published in
11 min readMar 5, 2024

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the internal politics and environment of a company really matter for its success. When you have a founder, a co-founder and a CEO, they need to all be seeing eye to eye.

Startups have such a glamorous reputation. Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Uber, and Airbnb once started as scrappy startups with huge dreams and huge obstacles. Yet we of course know that most startups don’t end up as success stories. What does a founder or a founding team need to know to create a highly successful startup? In this series, called “Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup” we are talking to experienced and successful founders and business leaders who can share stories from their experiences about what it takes to create a highly successful startup. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Armine Alajian, CPA.

Armine Alajian is an experienced CPA, startup accountant, fractional CFO, and founder of The Alajian Group Inc. Those who work with Armine love how passionate she is about helping, problem-solving and providing solution-based results, all while managing to put a strong emphasis on building accounting infrastructures, internal controls, financial reporting, and best practices. The Alajian Group serves businesses and individuals in areas of accounting, consulting, finance, and tax, specializing in startup accounting and business management for entertainers, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I graduated from California State University, Northridge with a bachelor’s in accounting in 2005. I have been working in accounting since I was 19 years old. During college, I worked in business management and in staff accounting positions. After college, I went into public accounting to do audits and taxes, which I did for about 4 years. I then got my CPA and worked at Warner Bros. In 2012, my startup life began, working for a fintech company called Zest Finance on Hollywood Boulevard, now known as ZestAI. The company incorporated a lot of startup culture and mindset, and it was the ultimate, ideal startup. I worked there for four years, and then ventured out on my own, 7 years ago, to do accounting for similar companies, like startups, all the way from seed to series C funding.

What was the “Aha Moment” that led to the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?

I wanted to build. The early stages of building a company are exciting, but once a company is built, the work becomes repetitive, day-to-day tasks. With The Alajian Group, we get to do all the fun, exciting work of building from the ground up, and because I know what needs to get done, I wanted to help these companies reach their goals.

Was there somebody in your life who inspired or helped you to start your journey with your business? Can you share a story with us?

Before I started working at Zest Finance, I didn’t know much about startups. When I interviewed with them it was weird and non-traditional. My husband was the one who initially pushed me to get into the startup world, because he knew it was the future. I kicked and screamed, but after a few months, I knew that I loved the startup culture because it was so different. Now startups are more common, but back then it wasn’t that common- I walked in and was confused when I saw the open office environment, with everyone sitting on balls instead of chairs. I was used to the traditional office cubicle before that.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

We’re not a conventional, typical corporate accounting firm. We’re flexible because we know work is different for everyone, and there isn’t a cookie-cutter approach. Accounting for startups can be like a puzzle, and we can feel what a company needs and know how to put all the pieces together. We utilize cutting-edge technology and keep up with the best current systems and processes.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

When we prepare financial statements for companies, allowing them to get the funding they need to operate their businesses, I think that’s a big deal. Based on our work, people are able to get millions of dollars to create or continue working on their companies and to do what they need to do for the world. There is a domino effect- without the financials in place, no investor would give a founder any money. We are the foundation, empowering startups to do the work they need to do. You need a strong foundation to build the house.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

The three traits I value most are honesty, integrity and diligence. These three traits are crucial for my business because we deal with a lot of confidential information, so trust is a big factor. Diligence is vital because, in our line of work, people need to deliver on time.

Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?

I grew up before computers became mainstream and people used to follow a traditional route- you go to school get a job, and grow in that company. For me, I was stuck in between being brought up thinking the conventional route was correct but then reality showed me something different. When I started working, I realized that the conventional route doesn’t work anymore.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

Starting The Alajian Group was hard because everything was an unknown, and nothing was guaranteed. It was a gamble and a risk because there was no stability whatsoever. Working in this space, every day is a 24/7 fire drill.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard? What strategies or techniques did you use to help overcome those challenges?

Working off of survival mode is just my personality and character. For me, it always seemed to come naturally. Different problems come up but it just takes resilience.

The journey of an entrepreneur is never easy and is filled with challenges, failures, setbacks, as well as joys, thrills and celebrations. Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

Being an entrepreneur never gets easier, but with experience, you gain more awareness and learn how to deal with setbacks and accomplishments. People can change when money is involved, and when you’re dealing with many different people, there’s a lot of psychology that goes into my job. People get emotional, and learning to navigate people’s emotions without taking it personally was important. You become battle-hardened.

Let’s imagine that a young founder comes to you and asks for your advice about whether venture capital or bootstrapping is best for them? What would you advise them? Can you kindly share a few things a founder should look at to determine if fundraising or bootstrapping is the right choice?

This is a question we deal with almost every day. I like both fundraising and bootstrapping, but my initial instinct is that the question should be bootstrapping or debt before raises. When you raise, you’re giving up control, and those investors dictate and control your business decisions. It also depends on the purpose of the business. If you’re trying to build a company and sell it, sure, take the money, do it, and sell it. But if you want to have a say in your company and control it, you need to put your money in, and if you don’t have money, take debt. It is situational — debt you just have to pay back. With equity, investors control you. Investors won’t be lining up to give a founder millions unless they have their own money involved, whether that be from themselves, or even family and friends. They want to know that you have some equity in it and that you believe in the company.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Many startups are not successful, and some are very successful. From your experience or perspective, what are the main factors that distinguish successful startups from unsuccessful ones? What are your “Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup”? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.

1 . Management — the internal politics and environment of a company really matter for its success. When you have a founder, a co-founder and a CEO, they need to all be seeing eye to eye.

2 . Finance and Accounting — it is essential to make sure that leaders have a full picture of the company they run. Oftentimes, company leaders focus too much on sales, they just see the cash in and cash out. Monitoring the finances and looking at projections and budgets is super important because you want to be able to have a plan and check on the company and if it is operating that plan.

3 . Money — money is a necessary tool to be able to grow any company. Without proper financing and accounting, it can become difficult to both stay afloat and to jump on opportunities and strike when the iron is hot.

4 . The Speed of Growth — sometimes growing too fast can be harmful. It’s important to have realistic and attainable goals for a business to keep operating on a steady path

5 . External factors — external factors like the market, technology, politics, and staffing can all have an impact on a startup’s success, but it depends on the business. Right now AI is the hot thing. During Covid, certain businesses got hit, some got shut down, and some had explosive growth. The external factors matter, because what happens if, by the time your product is ready to go to market, it’s not needed anymore?

What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?

What we see a lot are founders not doing proper projections and forecasts, and taking too much of the money coming in and investing it into sales and marketing. A lot of founders are visionaries, but sometimes they need to be more grounded. Make sure to hire, trust and listen to the experts in your company like your lawyers and accountants. Visionaries are very creative, which is great and necessary, but someone has to do the typically boring stuff too. Some founders think accounting is a thing they can take on later, or that they don’t have the money for accounting, but accounting is the foundation, the bedrock of a company. It’s one of the first things they should take into consideration.

Startup founders often work extremely long hours and it’s easy to burn the candle at both ends. What would you recommend to founders about how to best take care of their physical and mental wellness when starting a company?

Sleep is number one. Realistically, you’re not going to be shutting your eyes for 12 hours, but you’ll crash and lose focus without good sleep. Taking care of yourself with exercise and eating right is also helpful. Mental health is something I’m very supportive of. Founders should find what works best for themselves, whether it’s therapy, journaling, coaches, books, classes, or medications, it’s important to find something that makes your brain feel good.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I could start any movement it would be a push to “get stuff done.” I’m very direct and to the point, and I appreciate when people can skip the talking and just get something done. I love to see companies get to the point where it’s organized, people know what needs to get done, and everything just flows.

We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would like to have a private meal with someone who came from nothing and built an empire. Someone like Sylvester Stallone, Pitbull, or a self-made woman billionaire. I would ask them, “When you have everything and you’ve already made it, what makes you keep going? How do you overcome fears or self-limiting beliefs and bad days, but still keep going and thriving? How do you shape your mindset? How do you juggle multiple businesses?

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I’m very pleased that many media outlets reach out to me regularly to provide tax and finance advice. I’ve been quoted in Newsweek, Business Insider, U.S. News & World Report, GO Banking Rates and Consumer Affairs, to name a few. But I also have a blog where I regularly discuss tax issues — https://medium.com/@armine_alajian.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!

About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.

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Authority Magazine
Authority Magazine

Published in Authority Magazine

In-depth Interviews with Authorities in Business, Pop Culture, Wellness, Social Impact, and Tech. We use interviews to draw out stories that are both empowering and actionable.

Doug Noll
Doug Noll

Written by Doug Noll

Award-winning author, teacher, trainer, and now podcaster.

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