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In 2021, Clutch, the leading international ratings and reviews platform, recognized Loopex Digital as the top SEO agency in Armenia. The agency has 30+ experienced SEO specialists and works with such clients as Shopify, Oberlo, Gotch SEO, Sprout Social, and more.  

A company with an excellent culture and values, Loopex Digital creates a welcoming workplace, where young specialists can kick-start their careers and more experienced ones advance their professional growth. 

All of these sounds like an ambitious goal for two young university students, who would later become a married couple and the co-founders of one of Armenia’s leading marketing companies. 

        “Choose a co-founder the way you would choose a spouse,” 

This is a quote by entrepreneur and author Danielle Newnham which accurately describes  Loopex Digital co-founders Vahan and Maria’s personal and professional paths. 

Curious to know what it is like to share a successful business and maintain a work-life balance? Follow along to find out what the co-founders have to say about the whole experience and their individual success formulas.

To start with, how did you meet? 

M&V: We met at AUA at a time where we were both doing our MBA degrees. 

Why SEO? 

M&V: Well, most importantly, SEO is the digital marketing field we are both passionate about! Plus, it’s so many things at the same time: creative, analytical, content-based, and dynamic - it’s constantly evolving. 

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What about the name of the company? Why Loopex? 

M&V: It sounds cool! Though, there actually is a meaning behind the name. With our SEO practices, we keep our clients’ businesses in the loop of exponential (that’s what the “ex” at the end of the name stands for) success! We keep up with current SEO trends, help our clients grow and grow ourselves, too.  

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What were the challenges of starting Loopex? 

M&V: The most challenging thing about starting Լoopex was the shortage of specialists in the field. As our company mainly works with high-end international clients (sometimes with their clients too), we want to provide the best service possible. That’s why Loopex spends lots of time and enormous resources on experience sharing and specialist development programs for true talents. With our growth program, now we hire both beginners and SEO specialists with basic skills to help aspiring specialists grow to a level that meets our requirements. 

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What makes Loopex attractive to employees? 

Maria: Firstly, we work with high-end clients and industry experts such as John Lincoln, who is one of the top marketers according to the Search Engine Journal. Besides, we have advanced training programs,  which allow our team members to focus on one skill at a time and grow faster as professionals. 

Vahan: For me, Loopex is an agency that provides an exciting work environment, where I can rely on every team member, as I’m sure they will do their best to provide the client with exponential growth.   

As for employees, I think they get an enormous amount of experience and knowledge at Loopex. Also, as the company is developing at a very fast pace, the team members always have new projects to work on, and therefore, new opportunities to practice their skills and excel.

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What was your background before starting a career in SEO? 

Vahan: Before starting Loopex, I worked in finance. Though, along with my main job, I tried to stay on top of digital industry news and trends.  Later, I decided to switch careers and follow another path, because I acknowledged that digital marketing was the future. 

Maria: I started a career in digital marketing in 2015. Though SEO was my starting point, I afterward switched to general digital marketing, focusing on e-commerce. Sometime later, having sharpened and deepened my knowledge and skills, I came back to SEO, the field I care about the most. 

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What are the rules you live by? The ones that structure your work/life and the ones that determine your limits? 

Vahan: My main life rule is to find passion and motivation in anything I do. If I cannot find inspiration, here comes another rule: never leave any work unfinished. 

Maria: I don’t have any. I consider myself an exceedingly flexible person, so I can ‘’fit’’ in every situation. In fact, I don’t keep my professional and personal life separate, because to me SEO isn’t working at all: it is my passion, something I enjoy doing. 

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What is the one thing that had a significant influence to be where you are now? 

Maria: I know exactly that my passion and love for digital marketing came from my university professor Raffi Kassarjian. He is a Stanford MBA graduate, a professor of digital commerce, and overall a very successful person. 

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What do you feel in high-pressure and stressful situations? How do you like to process and handle those moments? 

Vahan: I try to enjoy challenging situations as much as I can. I believe in our team and us: whenever we had failures, losses, or challenges, we always tried to make the best out of them. We brainstormed, analyzed, came up with ideas and creative solutions that helped avoid or quickly resolve similar cases in the future. That’s how we created our company: through failure and gains. 

Maria:  Vahan and I have got comfortable with high-pressure situations: they’ve become something like routine to us. Now we work on more than 150 projects, all of which require high responsibility. Sure thing, our level of commitment to work creates lots of worries; however, I wouldn’t say those challenges stress me out in any way․

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What motivates you? 

Vahan: I’m the type of person who always tries to find inspiration in everything I do. Primarily, I get motivated when I see new opportunities. The next step I take is to turn those possibilities into goals and find ways to achieve them. Only then do I feel relieved and start to search for something new and more exciting. 

Maria: Mostly, I feel inspired by my passion and our team. Loopex Digital’s specialists are so dedicated, driven, and growth-oriented that you constantly keep asking yourself “What’s our next step? Where are we heading now?”. Plus, our high-end clients are another source of motivation. By the way, when I talk about inspiration, I recall a story from my past, where I had a dream to study at Berkeley University. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up applying, and studying there remained an unfulfilled dream. However, fast forward a few years, and now the university is our client, who highly values our professionalism and dedication. For me, this story is clear proof that you can achieve your dreams and aim even higher no matter what life throws at you.

What is the best thing about sharing a business with your life partner? 

Vahan: The most exciting thing is that we complete each other. Though focused on different aspects of our business, yet we are always in sync. 

Maria: Vahan is both very analytical and creative at the same time. What excites me the most about him is his ability to always think big. For that reason, I would assume Vahan is the moving force of our company. While I’m working focused on one thing, he manages to handle a few. Yet, regardless of these differences, we balance each other. 

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Share your success formula and tips to deal with challenges

Vahan: Work harder in challenging situations and don’t relax until you achieve your goals. Try to enjoy every challenging problem and high-pressure situation, because those are the moments that will make you a true professional. 

Maria: I’m very persistent and an eager beaver!  I’ll work extremely hard to achieve my goal, even round the clock. To get what I want, I’m ready to put in the effort and hours. Therefore, I genuinely believe that being persistent and a hard worker are the qualities that brought me where I am now.

Vahan and Maria are an inspiring, hard-working couple with a growth mindset, who constantly work on themselves and help other SEO enthusiasts explore their potential. Besides, they are living proof that it is possible to find a balance between work and family lives, and what’s more, run a successful, fast-growing business as a couple.