Andrew Reid
- Senior Vice President
- AVG
School Information
School: University of California Santa Barbara, University of Pennsylvania
College Major: Other
Years at College Works:
Career Information
Working For: AVG
Title: Senior Vice President
Industry: Internet
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Manage P/L of our platform business ($150M in annual revenue). Responsible for B2B and B2C product portfolio, marketing, engineering, sales, and, most importantly, team culture. Launched several new products and features growing revenue 92% year over year. General manager of the search business. Head of US HQ.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?My proudest accomplishment would not be work, it would be my children. My advice is that when you’re young and single, build your career. Spend the hours required and build relationships with others, because when you have a family later, family is most important.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
That’s the hardest summer I’ve ever had, including the summers I’ve had since then! My experience was probably before the support and structure that’s set up for interns now, but it was the most stressful job I’ve had in my life! I was also a District Manager for two years before I graduated. My time at College Works Painting gave me the confidence to go out and conquer the world.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
College Works Painting definitely helped. When I told people I supervised others and knocked on doors in college, I stood out. And when my team hires people now who are a few years out of college, I look for the same thing. We don’t usually hire college students straight out of school, but if we did, we would look at grades, recommendations, and most importantly, jobs in college. All the management, sales, and cold calling skills you learn at College Works Painting would make me think, “Wow that kid has motivation and is a hard worker and will figure things out.”
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Business is really about people. I’m still friends with Mike Profant. In fact, three of my closest friends today are from College Works Painting and it’s been 14-15 years! We do ski trips together and discuss our current businesses. All of us did well at College Works Painting and in our careers since. It is difficult to have a network of business colleagues who deal with the same issues and understand what you are going through.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Work ethic. I joined Google very early, when its shares were at 15 cents. It wasn’t by luck I got the Google job. I work very hard and I’m focused. I was willing to learn from people smarter than I am. At College Works Painting, 10% will become stars and there are also those who will just quit or be mediocre and they’ll be okay with it. People self select in this program.
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?
Unless that kid is 100% certain he or she knows what they want to do in their career, College Works Painting is better. For example, going into finance, a student needs to know that it’s years of working with spreadsheets and then on to a top 10 business school. Unless they are fully aware of that scenario and are fully invested in it, they should do College Works Painting. College Works Painting just gives you more responsibility and skill sets than the normal internship.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
I manage a team of 120 people spread across San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Prague, and Amsterdam. There is a human element in management. Understanding what motivates people is important. Learning public speaking will be helpful. I did Toast Masters when I was in college. I spend a lot of my time negotiating, so learning law will help you negotiate contracts.