Winning with Confidence and Ambition with Andre Swanston
Episode Summary
Andre Swanston is a dynamic tech innovator and media magnate whose ability to forecast industry shifts, identify opportunities, and take calculated risks has catapulted him to one of the only 9-figures exits by a Black American. He was the Co-founder and CEO of Tru Optik, a data and identity company for streaming media advertising, acquired by TransUnion in 2020.
Andre thinks what’s important in life is learning and growing from times that prepare us for challenges later. The “magic” is that everyone has a unique combination of life experiences. Andre’s personal competitive advantage is having healthy ambition and confidence. It’s essential to have a larger goal to drive our accomplishments. Short-term confidence comes from preparation while long-term, it comes from life experiences, education, relationships, and making decisions.
Join us to hear how Andre builds confidence, motivates a diverse team, and leads as an “optimistic realist”.
Episode Notes
Andre Swanston is a dynamic tech innovator and media magnate whose ability to forecast industry shifts, identify opportunities, and take calculated risks has catapulted him to one of the only 9-figure exits by a Black American. He was the co-founder and CEO of Tru Optik, a data and identity company for streaming media advertising, acquired by TransUnion in 2020.
Swanston’s first venture was an event promotion and production company. At the age of 23, he opened one of New England’s most prominent nightclubs, and by 28, he had moved on to private wealth management at JP Morgan Chase & Co., becoming one of the youngest Vice Presidents of Investments.
What’s important for Andre is learning and growing from experiences that prepare us for challenges later. The “magic” is that everyone has a unique combination of life experiences. He grew up in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world, the Bronx, NY, where his father constantly motivated him by pointing out the success of people with diverse backgrounds.
Andre’s biggest responsibility & definition of success is the evolution of the family - to provide more for our kids than we had, no matter who we are. This goal motivated him to keep going and deal with setbacks along the way.
Andre left his investment banking job at JP Morgan to start his own company from nothing - one of his “riskiest and best” decisions in his life. He had a unique vantage point, seeing digital media as the most effective place to invest advertising dollars at that time and having access to angel investors he knew from his work at JP Morgan.
The two most important things in building a business are creating a great team and learning to motivate As a leader, Andre pushes for what’s possible and even what’s impossible but realistic. When a team sees that we as leaders are fully invested – they are motivated by us. Swanston believes that a more diverse team drives creativity.
Andre’s personal competitive advantage is having healthy ambition and confidence. It’s essential to have a larger goal to drive our ambition. Short-term confidence comes from preparation while long-term, it comes from life experiences, education, relationships, and taking decisions.
His advice to younger people is: “Don’t rush; give yourself more time than you expect! Prepare yourself to work harder and longer! Believe in goodwill!”
Join us to hear how Andre builds a mindset of confidence, motivates a diverse team, and leads as an “optimistic realist”.
Show Contributors
Joe Hart, President/CEO, Dale Carnegie & Associates
Andre Swanston, Co-Founder and CEO of Tru Opti
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