Over the past decade, the Wall Street-based company has established offices in the United States, United Kingdom, India, and Lithuania. The Kaunas branch has seen tremendous growth over the past two years and has shown exceptional performance and work-quality results. What started as a two-person team, has 22 specialists today, and this number is growing rapidly. “Clients’ demands for quality and data protection, not to mention their trust in our competence, is opening the door to new employees who want to work on high-profile projects for some of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions. Right now, we are ready to welcome over 10 new employees with modern workspaces and equipment, as well as welcome gifts,” says Vytenis Jasikevicius, head of SoHo Dragon Lithuania.
“The new office will help us strengthen our customer relationships, forge new alliances, and provide an incentive for new employees to join our ranks,” says Peter Ward, CEO of SoHo Dragon. While the company is not well known in Lithuania, it has a good reputation on Wall Street and has been included in the prestigious list of the most successful U.S. private companies, “Inc. 5000,” for five years now. SoHo Dragon is ranked 70th on the “Inc. 5000” U.S. growth list in the New York Metropolitan area.
Outstanding talent deserves outstanding acknowledgment
The technological leadership of Microsoft Gold partner SoHo Dragon is ensured by its Microsoft most valuable professionals (MVPs) and certified professionals.
The company’s slogan is outstanding talent produces outstanding work. No wonder the candidate selection is extremely thorough. "We take our promises to customers very seriously, so the process is indeed scrupulous. It is not surprising that the new members justifiably meet the expectations,” says V. Jasikevicius, adding, “No less important are the candidate’s personal qualities. Our values must coincide, and only then will we achieve our common goal.”
Opening the Kaunas office in 2020 coincided with the beginning of quarantine, so naturally, a remote- work culture developed. "We provided an opportunity to set up home offices and communicate virtually. The employees of SoHo Dragon Lithuania are mature and responsible people. I am convinced that time spent with family and hobbies is inseparable from the good emotional state of our employees, therefore I do not interfere with their schedules. Even so, mutual respect ensures completing the tasks on time and without any mistakes,” says V. Jasikevicius proudly.
Currently, 125 IT professionals are working at SoHo Dragon’s headquarters in the United States, United Kingdom, India, and Lithuania. "They are exceptional talents in the IT market," says Jim Blottman, head of operations at SoHo Dragon. “One of our top priorities is focusing on their needs. We are proud to offer our employees a flexible work schedule and a significantly higher salary.” In Lithuania, this is about 5,000 euros a month. "Working with happy professionals is not disappointing. Undoubtedly, customers remain satisfied, the clientele is expanding,” says V. Jasikevicius.
Company leaders’ personalities influence the work environment
“The military experience for me influences the way I run my business every day,” says Gulf War veteran Jim Blottman. “Things I learned as a Marine – shaking someone’s hand and doing what I say I’m going to do, making others better around me, inspiring others, being there when they need me, being committed to a client and fellow employers – those are the rules I follow every day,” says J. Blottman, who has worked at SoHo Dragon since 2010.
A former player of Kaunas Zalgiris and other Lithuanian basketball league clubs, V. Jasikevicius graduated in business studies in Lithuania and the United States and continued his career as a basketball player for another decade. "I love basketball, but I always wanted to apply the lessons learned in the United States to a business here in Lithuania. With the help of the Baltic American Chamber of Commerce, I met Jim. I appreciate his trust in me and Lithuanian specialists,” says the head of the Lithuanian division.
V. Jasikevicius‘ athletic experience helps to build and maintain a dedicated team. "Counting on each other on the basketball court, highlighting a friend's strengths, and masking weaknesses is a straight path to victory. This is a great analogy that can be applied to a company team. We work side by side, relying on and helping each other. My company team knows when to pass the ball and when to cut into the penalty, even though my new basketball court is an office," jokes V. Jasikevicius.
