Born in the Trades: Celebrating ServiceTitan’s IPO

There are some people you meet that you just can’t forget. Ara Mahdessian is one of those people. I first met Ara through mutual friends in college. I stumbled into a conversation where he was dissecting why AC Milan would win the 2007 UEFA Champions League. He had watched thousands of hours of games and studied in detail why certain players and coaches were effective while others never scaled to legendary status. It was clear he had an uncanny ability to distill everything down to growth drivers and first principles, and he was incredibly convincing. Anyone listening could see he wasn’t just passionate about soccer; he was obsessed with the craft of the sport and how to master it.

Years later, I ran into Ara again at the same friend’s party, where I also met his soon-to-be co-founder, Vahe Kuzoyan. Vahe struck me as a visionary. As we discussed how to catalyze the future of tech in Armenia, his clarity of thinking and ability to dream big pushed my own thinking as well. Despite high-paying offers from big tech companies, Ara and Vahe moved back to Glendale to help their dads better run their plumbing and contracting businesses. When they couldn’t find a solution to modernize their fathers’ workflows and manage the many aspects of running a home services business, they decided to build it themselves. A few years later, they founded ServiceTitan to give tradespeople the tools and technology they need to thrive.

So when I joined Index Ventures in 2017 and was asked which company was at the top of my wishlist to invest in, I didn’t skip a beat: ServiceTitan. It’s so rare to find founders who come from the industry, have world-class technical chops, and are deeply obsessed with the success of their customers. Whenever Ara and Vahe think of their customers, they remember their fathers’ struggles running their own trades business.

Ara and Vahe founded ServiceTitan with a clear vision: to empower tradespeople and modernize a trillion-dollar industry long overlooked by technology. Over the years, the company has evolved into the operating system for the trades, helping plumbers, roofers, landscapers, HVAC technicians—the essential, unsung heroes who keep our homes and communities running smoothly—operate and grow their businesses.

Being part of ServiceTitan’s journey has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my personal and professional life. Ara and Vahe have become dear friends, and our friendship is rooted in trust and direct communication.

As ServiceTitan celebrates its IPO, I can’t help but think of Ara and Vahe’s vision and the guts it took to arrive at this point. Navigating the ups and downs of economic cycles, while never once losing sight of what’s best for customers, takes a special kind of courage. So does committing your life’s work to building technology for a massive but historically underserved trades industry—one that institutional investors have largely forgotten for years. Ara’s favorite quote sums it up best: “No one knows the limit of your potential, including yourself.”

Today is just the beginning for ServiceTitan—the first stage in a long journey that will see Ara, Vahe, and their team continue to change lives and give tradespeople the technology they need to keep the world running. I can’t wait to see what they do from here.