On today's episode of The Edge of Excellence, Matt talks with Andrew Reid, Global Head of Partnership Products at Vonage. Andrew is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from UC Santa Barbara. Andrew has spent more than 20 years in the tech industry working for several startups, including Google, AOL, Symantec, and AVG Technologies.

He will talk about who he was before joining College Works, as well as his experiences there and the lifelong relationships he built. He will explain why and how he transitioned from commercial real estate to dot-com startups. You'll learn about the history of the dot-com crash. He will talk about his work at Google as its 350th employee, the skills he needed to succeed at the foundation of Google, and the various companies he worked for after that, including AOL, Symantec, and AVG Technologies.

You will learn what it takes to become a global head of partner products. He will discuss Google's interviewing and hiring techniques. He will explain why he left Google for AOL and why AOL is considered the worst acquisition ever. You will learn more about his work at AVG Technologies, which at the time was the largest consumer security product outside of China. He will talk about his annual ski trip and why it is so therapeutic. He will give advice to people who want to get into the technology industry. You will learn how to use a venture capitalist as a proxy to find the right company for you. He will reveal what he believes are some of the most impactful decisions he's made in his life.

Join Matt and Andrew for a fascinating conversation about how to navigate the tech world.

Enjoy! 

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• Andrew's definition of excellence
• The importance of having a holistic view of excellence
• How Google made money before advertising
• The importance of building your network at a young age
• How to conduct structured interviews to hire the best employee
• How to maintain lifelong friendships
• Indicators to determine the best company to join or invest in
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Edge of Excellence