We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andre Sebastian a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Andre, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea of ANDRE’S?

Growing up, I’ve learned that I was really good at two things: connecting people, and creating experiences. Whether it was in school, or on my swim team, or with my co-workers at Google, I’ve always had this passion to bring people together to create memorable, life-changing experiences. People would always say, “Are you going to Andre’s?” or “Let’s have the pregame at Andre’s!” so I knew that I was always the hub of whatever social group or community I was a part of.

I’ve always wanted my own headquarters kind of thing. Imagine like Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory or like the Avengers campus. I’m excited to be building out this dream I’ve always had. This is going to be the new, cool hub of LA. People are going to want to work here, to play here, to live here. I’ve been planting seeds since I’ve moved out here, and I’m finally seeing them grow by bringing together all the brands and the people I’ve met. There’s going to be a lot of magic being made and this is just the beginning.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I actually started my career in tech with internships at Microsoft and Google to then joining Google full time and then starting a new smartphone company called Essential with the founder of Android, Andy Rubin. I was able to grow a following and get a feel for the influencer marketing space throughout this part of my career so when Essential was shutting down and laying off the employees, I decided to pack my things up and move down to LA with no specific job or plan in general!

Over the past few years, I’ve been able to meet so many different kinds of people here from actors, to magicians, to chefs, and creators across different niches and platforms. I’ve been able to start my own agency and work on some of the coolest campaigns with different brands. Now, I’m ready to take this to the next level at ANDRE’S.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had this idea that my ultimate goal was to work at a big tech company and work my way up. Being an intern at Google, then working full-time there for a year, I realized it wasn’t for me. It was a dream come true of course but I felt like I was just one out of a million people working there. I knew I wanted to go out and make MY dreams come true, not Google’s. I left after a year and decided to go start my own thing, whatever that may be.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I’m all about making personal relationships with both talent as well as my brand contacts. I consider them a friend to me while still being professional. I invite them to dinners, events, and make them feel like they are part of the ANDRE’S community so they can make interpersonal relationships with each other as well. When I pitch creators to some brands, they already know these creators so there is more of a sense of trust there when working together.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andreonbrand.co
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/andreonbrand
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrepangilinan/

Image Credits
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