Max Alesi
- Co Founder
- Home Genius Exteriors
School Information
School: University of Maryland
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2015-2018
Career Information
Working For: Home Genius Exteriors
Title: Co Founder
Industry: Home Improvement
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Besides being one of the Co Founders of the company, I am the Vice President of the South Region. I manage all aspects of outbound marketing, sales, operations and recruiting, as well as contribute to improving our systems and processes so that we can continue to scale. Most importantly, I help find and develop the leaders that will take this company to 1 billion dollars.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Home Genius Exteriors hitting 150 million dollars was a cool milestone. But more than the revenue achievement, my fulfillment comes from all the people who were able to achieve their dreams and goals due to our growth. And I cant wait to see to how many more people change their life at HGE as we continue to grow to 1 billion and beyond.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting was the foundation of my business skill set – but more importantly it pushed me so far out of my comfort zone that when I finally emerged on the other side I was a confident business leader ready to take on the world.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
The biggest impact College Works Painting had on my career was the people. My business partners as well as my closest friends and colleagues have come from College Works Painting. I was still employed with College Works Painting immediately upon graduation. Now, the co Founders of HGE (as well as my real estate partners) are all from College Works Painting.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
Bill and Jean Catherwood, 2014 – I worked with the Catherwood’s my intern year, and after a job well done – they became raving fans. Not only did they call me back for extra work on 2 separate occasions, they also became a beacon of positive energy for both College Works Painting, and Max Alesi, in their neighborhood. Anytime I had a new intern class, I would bring them around to the Catherwood’s neighborhood to get them excited about the internship. I’d even introduce them to Bill & Jean if they were around. This taught me such a valuable lesson about the value of going above and beyond for a customer. You never know which happy customer will pay exponential dividends for your brand.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Do what you have to do now so you can do what you want to do later.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
Some of my best friends (and business partners) are from this program. As a recent example, I just officiated a wedding for Jon Carasquillo who was an intern in another state at the same time as me and we have since built an incredible friendship over the last decade. There are numerous examples of this, which is why this was by far my favorite part about College Works Painting.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Creating America’s Future Business Leaders.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Do the internship. Go all in. To my knowledge, there is not a better opportunity to grow as an 18, 19, or 20 year old future business leader than College Works Painting.
Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?
Chose an internship that pushes you outside of your comfort zone and teaches you business and leadership skills. You can change “career fields” 100 times – it doesn’t matter, but when you personally develop as a human being that can never be taken away from you. It is blatantly obvious to all employers (regardless of industry) those who have had real business and personal development and those who have not. I chose to stay in the same industry as an entrepreneur but I had job offers from the big 4, the government, and boutique shops in DC despite never interning in my “field” of economics.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Best advice for someone interested in entering any career field is to find/work for a mentor/leader who has what you want – and then go dominate. Results get noticed. There is no shortage of opportunity for those who put in the work to be able to handle it.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
I qualified for all the top performer trips (Orange County California, Vegas, Mexico, Montreal Canada, etc.) – they showed me that working hard was worth it. That discipline in the moment was nothing compared to living life of freedom.
Last words of wisdom?
“Pain of discipline or pain of regret” Work your ass off when you are young so you can live the life of your dreams when you get older. College is not the ‘best 4 years of your life’. That is a myth told to you by people that didn’t pay the price so the rest of their life sucks and they are living in the past. I’m just keeping it real. The rest of your life can be the ‘best 4 years of your life’ if you pay the price in your 20s and set yourself up to thrive. I live a life that I do not need a vacation from because I went incredibly hard in my 20s. The FOMO isn’t real. But not being able to have freedom when you are older, is very real. Do what you need to do now so you can do what you want to do later. “