MBA alum Robert Khachatryan is helping professionals reach their goals
Robert Khachatryan
Robert Khachatryan (MBA 2021) encourages people to reach for the stars when it comes to their careers. The former astrophysicist—a rocket designer—has’ taken to the world of coaching, passing along his experiences in dreaming big, setting challenging goals and launching forward.
Khachatryan founded Vector Goals in 2022. The company’s team of coaches provides guidance in financial literacy and professional and personal development.
“The thing I’m most excited about is tracking the number of people I help to create a path to reach their career goals,” Khachatryan said. “For example, I’m working with a construction company of 30 employees to give them something meaningful so they can feel better about themselves and their work. My goal is to hit 50,000 people Vector Goals is impacting by the end of 2025.”
Khachatryan is no stranger to outlining ambitious goals and manifesting them. As a youth in Orange County, California, he was so fascinated by Carl Sagan’s work that he decided to become an astronaut. He studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz, earning a bachelor of science in astrophysics.
“When I started doing the work and getting in the lab, I realized I hated it. Astrophysics wasn’t for me. I wanted to stay in engineering and physics, so I got my master’s in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California,” he said.
At an internship at SpaceX, Khachatryan was responsible for working with rocket designs. He was tasked with finding ways to ensure the rocket’s avionics would survive exposure to salt water to avoid costly component replacements. His work there opened his eyes to the importance of teamwork and relationships with supervisors and colleagues. A move to Colorado and stints at two other aerospace companies led Khachatryan to a greater interest in human leadership.
While working full-time, he enrolled in the Daniels College of Business, joining its part-time Professional MBA program.
“I realized the things I would learn in the PMBA program were much more useful than what I learned in my six years of other education. It wasn’t all theoretical stuff; it was actually applicable,” he said.
He took the lessons he learned in class about empathy, leadership and self-realization in large corporations and scaled them to apply to a much smaller organization. He first used his new skillsets a4240 Brands, a wine wholesaling company he co-founded with classmate Benjamin Garey (PMBA 2021).
The two based 4240 Brands on their Global Business class at Daniels. Khachatryan planned and strategized the business model and helped grow the business. He left the company in 2023 to focus on his true passion: helping people become the best versions of themselves.
Professional development coaching helps employees level up, provides greater motivation within teams and has the potential to catapult a person or business to an entirely new level, Khachatryan said, noting how difficulties in one area of life can adversely impact another. Likewise, improvements in one aspect can give other areas a boost.
“Our work and our lives are very intertwined. Sometimes you come home, and your work comes home with you. Sometimes your life comes with you when you go to work, too,” he explained. “We need to find ways to be more accepting and open in dealing with people’s personal problems, because stress leads to mistakes and can cost a lot of money, particularly on a construction job site. So, having the resources to address personal needs in a timely manner can help an employee’s mental health and their company’s overall performance.”
Khachatryan’s desire to help others extends to his alma mater, where he mentors current students at every opportunity.
Lowell Valencia-Miller, the assistant dean of MBA programs and a teaching associate professor in the Department of Management, said Khachatryan sets a positive example for PMBA students.
“He has walked in their shoes and gone ahead of them on this journey, so he’s able to relate to what students may be feeling,” Valencia-Miller said. “He can give them the reassurance that with motivation, dedication and commitment, they will complete the program.”
Valencia-Miller was Khachatryan’s instructor in a business strategy class and served as a mentor when he began planning Vector Goals. They talked through several operational topics, including using technology to amplify his company’s reach.
“Our motto or credo here at Daniel’s is ‘pioneering business for the public good,’” Valencia-Miller said. “I think Robert is taking that to heart as he rolls out his business idea.”