Shah Sotoudehnia is a great friend of mine and Former Student of Texas A&M University who utilizes his cultural experiences, financial expertise, and driven personality to excel in his role as an investment banking analyst. Not only did Shah sit down to tell me all about the experiences thus far in his career, but he also shared stories of his young life growing up in Austin, TX and his time in college trying to make the most of what Aggieland has to offer.
Take a listen by clicking below and let me know what you think!
*The audio volume is a little back and forth for the first 60 seconds or so and then levels out for the remainder of the episode.*
Early Days
Shah draws much of his inspiration and work ethic from his parents who both fled Iran during the Revolution of 1979. His dad, landing in Canada, and his mom, Washington, D.C.
Shortly after a move to Northern California and the birth of Shah, he and his family relocated to Steiner Ranch just outside of Austin. According to Shah, it was fun growing up as only child and getting to experience all of the sights, sounds, and weirdness that ATX has to offer.
His youthful days were spent enjoying time with family, engaging with the outdoor activities of the city and developing his love for music at the Austin City Limits (ACL) music festival. When asked about his life growing up, Shah said,
"The city was great and I enjoyed the friends I had around, but I sometimes wish I wasn't an only child so I had someone to bounce ideas off of."
While I can't say I'm upset about being an only child, myself...I can appreciate the sentiment.
Choice to go to A&M
You might be wondering how someone so close to that unspeakable school up in Austin made the pivotal decision to venture south to College Station and attend Texas A&M University.
"I don't remember any sort of defining moment - I hadn't even gone to see campus before I decided to attend A&M."
Despite having never been to campus prior to making his determination to be an Aggie, Shah exclaimed his thankfulness for attending such a wonderful university by saying,
"I'm really glad I made the decision. I have countless memories of College Station and A&M and I wouldn't have done it any different way if I were to go back."
It's not rare for students to attend Texas A&M because of family lineage. "I'm a second...fourth...sixth generation Aggie" is a notoriously common phrase around campus, but to Shah - he found pride in the fact that he was the first in his family to attend the university.
His most notable experiences on campus consists of late-night studying with his friends and gathering together on the floor of graduation prior to walking across the stage. He described it as a moment to reflect on all of the hard work and memories that got them to that pivotal day - graduation.
Some of those memories that Shah and I were able to reflect on during the podcasts include recapping our initial meeting and spending countless hours trying to understand financial reporting in the Med-Sci library. Check out the picture below to see an accurate representation of our pre-exam all nighters.
After initially being involved in the same Freshman Leadership Organization (FLO) called PREP, we continued our friendship by challenging ourselves to both excel in the classroom and enjoy our beloved Northgate - a feat not to be overlooked for it's difficulty nor stupidity.
Post-Grad Life
After graduation, Shah took a job in a M&A "deals-type" group at Big 4 accounting firm, PwC. His draw to the public accounting world was driven by our experience within the Professional Accounting Program at Texas A&M which enabled us to attain both an undergraduate degree in accounting and a masters in a different business specialty (i.e., finance, management).
After a few months in his post-grad role, Shah realized that he wasn't passionate about the work he was doing and didn't want his lack of interest to influence his final work product. As such, Shah decided to pivot his career and took a position at a middle market ($300-600mm companies) investment bank called Houlihan Lokey.
The transition to a more finance based role was less sudden than it might seem, as it was a career decision that Shah had been contemplating since his sophomore year of college. It took some time to come to the realization, but Shah exclaimed on the podcast how he has never been happier and genuinely loves the type of work that he is now doing. For people trying to determine what to do with their career, Shah suggested,
"It's all about finding your fit. I found where I fit in and absolutely love the work that I'm doing."
These days, Shah has settled into his new role and hopes to continue accelerating up each rung of the investment banking ladder for the foreseeable future.
Final Thoughts
There are so many great anecdotes that are worthy of making into this article that you'll just have to check out the podcast to hear, but if there's one thing I'd want the reader to know about Shah Sotoudehnia, it's that he is the most determined yet compassionate person I know.
Despite the different challenges in his life or the immense hours that he works, he still finds time to maintain the relationships with the people in his life that he values the most - a trait I hope to acquire for myself.
Give it a listen and let me know your thoughts!
Vin
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