Welcome back to Owner to Owner—a newsletter for 1,200+ small business owners and operators who want to become better leaders and design the next chapter of their companies.

This month, we sat down with Raffi Jamgotchian, who founded Triada Networks in 2008. It's a managed IT and cybersecurity firm in northern New Jersey, and today the vast majority of its book is private equity and wealth management.

The founding date is most of the story. Raffi had left a large investment firm to help start a small hedge fund, and when the financial crisis hit, the fund let him go. He was fired on November 11th. He started Triada on November 12th. His parents told him not to do it. His father had run his own consulting shop for an entire career, trading dollars for hours, and that was exactly the trap Raffi had watched up close and did not want.

He fell into it anyway, for the better part of a decade: a solo shop, spending real money on tools, convinced he wasn't making enough to hire anyone. His own summary of that stretch is the most useful sentence in the interview. "Turns out I had to hire people to make enough."

What makes Raffi's story interesting isn't the origin. It's the three separate corrections it took to climb out—2016, 2020, 2023—each one triggered by something he'd already built starting to buckle. That, and the way he landed on his niche, which he didn't so much choose as finally notice, is what we wanted to explore with him.

I started Triada in 2008, right at the beginning of the financial crisis. Before that, I'd spent about a dozen years at a larger investment firm, then left in 2006 to help start a small hedge fund. When the crisis hit, that fund let me go. I was fired on November 11th. I started Triada on November 12th.

I didn't have much time to think it over, and I wasn't comfortable at all, it was hair-raising. But I had marketable skills, so worst case I could find a mid-level IT job somewhere. My parents told me not to do it. My father had run his own consulting shop his whole career, trading dollars for hours, and that's exactly the trap I didn't want to fall into. Ironically, that's what I became for the first eight to ten years anyway: a solo shop, spending enormous money on tools. Unlike a plumber who just needs his truck, an MSP needs digital tools to support multiple clients. I didn't feel like I was making enough to hire people. Turns out I had to hire people to make enough.

There have been three real inflection points. In 2016, I started outsourcing support, which helped me grow because I felt more confident my customers were covered. But we hit a plateau and service levels slid. In 2020, I brought that support in-house and replaced the outsourced team entirely. Costs went down, and I could be in two places at once. Then in 2023, we operationalized for real: SOPs, repeatability, an expanded team so I could give away more operational duties and spend more time on sales and marketing.

We also got specialized. We started by casting a wide net, even mailing 500 letters to companies, one of which was a cosmetics ingredient business that became a client. But four or five years in, I noticed that when I talked about my own background at Invesco, it clicked harder with certain prospects. So we narrowed toward alternative asset managers, then wealth advisors. We still take other clients, but the vast majority of our business today is private equity and wealth management, and it's where we do our best work.

I tried to outsource sales a few times. I'm a computer engineer, not a salesperson, so I couldn't do it myself. I tried friends, family, outside firms. Every time, it cost real money and long commitments and never worked. The worst one was during Covid: I took out an SBA loan and partnered with a company to use it for growth. It amounted to nothing. I'm still paying that loan off, and it still reminds me of the mistake. Strategy has to come from inside the company. It can't be bought from outside.

My wife has been a massive supporter. I wouldn't have had the stomach to do this alone without her. Raising four kids while running a company means I became something like the fifth child in the house. But being an entrepreneur let me go to soccer games and be present, even if I was carrying a laptop through Disney World. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

My team shifted once they started bringing me ideas on how to run the company—no longer just collecting a paycheck, but invested in the firm's wellbeing. Our clients, especially the early ones, grew with me. I've only lost one client outright, during Covid, when their fund lost its thesis. Those early clients gave us grace while we figured things out, and became a training ground for our people. That's become our mantra: to have grace with others, and with each other.

Same advice my parents gave me: don't do it. There's an old Middle Eastern Armenian saying about needing three keys in life: your house key, your car key, and your business key. It's partly about being scrappy. If you've got a skill and an idea, there's nothing better than owning and running your own company. I've had bad nights—2008 gave me plenty—but a business is like a house. At some point you pay it off, and it belongs to you. It starts spitting out cash for you instead of the other way around.

If something here sparked a thought, a question, or a story of your own, just reply—we read every note. And if you’d like to be a part of a future issue, let us know through the button below.

Until next month, wishing you a strong week ahead. We’ll see you soon.

— Victor & Brian

P.S. Hit reply and tell us anything on your mind about life or business.

This is a private email for owners of B2B businesses in the US. Hosted by two longtime business owners, Brian O'Connor and Victor Saad of NextGen Growth Partners, we share personal interviews, honest lessons, and draw connections back to your work and life. Glad you're here.