We were lucky to catch up with Lawdan Shojaee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lawdan , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

All good things in life require risk, and one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that meaningful growth rarely comes from staying comfortable. A moment that stands out is the leap my co-founder and I took to start the Persian New Year Festival.

It began as a simple conversation during a hike in Sedona. We found ourselves reflecting on our Iranian-American culture and wishing there were more ways to share it. One of us said, half-joking, “What if we throw one of the biggest parties, invite everyone, and celebrate this culture we love?” That spark was enough.

Neither of us had experience producing a festival, but we dove in anyway. We learned logistics from scratch, worked with the city, and convinced others to believe in the vision. There were countless unknowns. Would people come? Would it resonate? We just kept going.

Eight years later, the Persian New Year Festival now welcomes more than 15,000 people annually. None of that impact would have happened without the courage to take a risk and do something we’d never done before. It taught me that the most meaningful outcomes often live just on the other side of uncertainty.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always believed in pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons! As the former CEO of Axosoft, I was proud to be one of the few women leading a tech company in the Phoenix Valley. Being a CEO in tech fueled my passion for innovation, leadership, and community.

At Axosoft, I launched #ItWasNeverADress, a campaign that gained global recognition for challenging gender stereotypes and inspiring more women to pursue careers in tech.

As a passionate mom, I carried that same belief of empowerment in education by creating a micro-school for my children. A school designed to spark curiosity, creativity, and confidence through hands-on learning and exploration.

One of my proudest projects is co-founding the Persian New Year Festival, a nonprofit close to my heart. Inspired by my heritage and a desire for my children, and others, to see the beauty and value of Persian culture. The festival brings families and communities together each year to celebrate art, music, food, and tradition in vibrant, joyful ways.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Creating a welcoming and uplifting work environment was paramount in our success as a company! This is by far one of my top values while a CEO at Axosoft and has carried on into my non-profit work. Axosoft offices were set up with collaboration and community in mind. Picture open offices, glass doors, and laughter that filled the hallways. That’s the type of company I wanted to lead, so I was intentional in creating it.

Some of my favorite work culture initiatives included having an in-office gym with daily fitness class offerings, providing opportunities for our employees to participate in service to the community, offering competitive work benefits and incentives for retention, and creating an environment where employees were celebrated for who they were. This carries through to my work with my non-profits. EVERY team member and volunteer knows their value because I will always prioritize ways to show my gratitude for their hard work each year.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Flexibility is key! Being able to abandon an idea altogether and start over is a MUST when you are doing anything worthwhile. I have many experiences, personally and professionally, where the only option was to pivot.

One that stands out is in our response to the pandemic. We responded quickly in more ways than one. Once it was clear we could not keep our offices open, we provided each of our employees a budget to create workable home offices and executed a work from home plan quickly. Not only that, in response to school shut downs, we opened our micro-school to family/friends. This school operated from our home and the home school teachers and my children began creating YouTube content for other at-home learners. I suppose the lesson is, when life gives you a pandemic, you open your own school and your heart!

Contact Info:

• Website: pnyf.org, itwasneveradress.org
• Instagram: @laddijoon, @persiannewyearfestival