The ingredients it takes to be successful really hinge on the specific phase you are in as o business.
Take a fascinating ride through the extraordinary life of Andrew Cordle, a visionary who transformed humble beginnings into a sterling career of entrepreneurship and real estate investment.
From starting a window-washing company in college to navigating through the devastating 2008 market crash, Cordle illustrates an inspiring testament to resilience and adaptation.
Today, Andrew’s entrepreneurial prowess goes beyond personal success as he, together with his business partner Eddie Wilson, spearhead Collective Influence. This parent company for multiple ventures promotes not only financial prosperity but also furthers philanthropic pursuits via their non-profit, Impact Others.
Immerse yourself in his candid insights about the value of innovation, the significance of small daily decisions, and the evolving skills an entrepreneur requires at different business stages.
Uncover his contagious excitement for the Aspire Tour, a platform for sharing insights with fellow entrepreneurs, and take a sneak peek into his guilty pleasure – an unquenchable passion for sneakers.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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Table of Contents
It’s an absolute pleasure to feature you in this publication. To start, could you please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself and your journey up until now?
Andrew Cordle: It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me. To give you a brief overview, I grew up in a humble and loving home. During college, I founded a window washing company focused on commercial accounts.
I successfully scaled it, making around a million dollars annually, and eventually sold it. Following that, I ventured into the real estate industry until the 2008 market crash.
The period around 2008 was the most challenging time in my life, with significant losses both personally and professionally. However, this experience revealed gaps in my previous business models and allowed me to improve in the subsequent years while rebuilding myself and my businesses.
In 2015, I started traveling the world, speaking at various events about real estate investment. Then, in 2019, I founded “Money Is” my current company, which I am still involved in. In 2020, my business partner Eddie Wilson and I established “Collective Influence” as the parent company for our diverse business ventures.
What inspired you to start Collective Influence, and how did you turn that inspiration into a reality?
Andrew Cordle: I founded Collective Influence driven by a desire to do good. Having already achieved my personal financial goals, I sought to empower others in achieving their own goals.
Eddie and I turned that inspiration into a reality by hiring the best people we could to fill our staff. We firmly believe that the strength of our team determines our long-term success as a company.
Our company is dedicated to enhancing the lives of our employees and customers. In addition, through our non-profit organization ‘Impact Others,’ we strive to make meaningful contributions globally.
Projects initiated by ‘Impact Others’ include establishing feeding centers in Honduras and constructing fresh water wells in Ghana, West Africa.
How do you ensure that your business stays innovative and competitive in a rapidly evolving market?
Andrew Cordle: Staying innovative is the name of the game when it comes to business success. At Collective Influence, I serve as the visionary, while Eddie is the one who takes action. We jokingly refer to our partnership as “the dreamer and the dream-maker.”
As the visionary, I constantly anticipate market trends and seek opportunities to make our company more cutting-edge and relevant to our customers.The concept of innovation strongly resonated with me during a visit to Facebook’s headquarters in California.
Their building was the old “Sun Microsystems” building and out in front of that building, you would see the big “Facebook” sign that people travel from all over to come get pictures in front of.
Well, for the employees inside the building, when they look out their window down at that “Facebook” sign, they would actually see an imprint of the old “Sun Microsystems” logo.
When I asked them why that was, I was told that Mark Zuckerberg wanted that sign to remain as a reminder to either “innovate or die.” This story has stuck with me and I strive to instill the same culture of innovation at Collective Influence.
Can you share a specific strategy or decision that has significantly contributed to your success?
Andrew Cordle: You know, there really isn’t any decision that significantly contributes to a company’s success.
It comes down to the miniscule decisions that you make on a daily basis, and all of those decisions have a ripple effect. The bigger your company gets, the more ripples there are with each decision you make (good or bad).
In your opinion, what are the most important qualities or skills that an entrepreneur should possess in order to thrive in today’s business landscape?
Andrew Cordle: Successful entrepreneurs require a diverse set of skills to thrive in today’s business landscape. The ingredients it takes to be successful really hinge on the specific phase you are in as a business.
For example, true grit is crucial in the beginning phases of starting a business-a relentless determination to persevere despite challenges.
As the business progresses and overcomes initial hurdles, you will still need grit but maybe not as much as you needed in the beginning. The ability to identify and apply the right skills at the right time sets successful businesses apart from others.
With all the people you work with & all of your businesses, what are you really excited about?
Andrew Cordle: We have many things going on right now at Collective Influence, but my favorite so far is our Aspire Tour. It allows us to connect with fellow entrepreneurs who share our aspirations.
We are all striving for success and being surrounded by a crowd of like-minded people and being able to share different insights is priceless.
Helping other entrepreneurs avoid the struggles and challenges that I had to go through is the heartbeat of why I do what I do.
Lastly, before we wrap up, can you tell us about a guilty pleasure of yours – that you just can’t resist.
Andrew Cordle: Oh my gosh, it would be my sneakers. I am a huge “sneaker head” and it truly is (dare I say) an addiction of mine.
I have my entire personal team signed into the Nike app and I have them enter all the different Nike “sneaker drops” for me.
If I am not trying to win the drops, I am having custom ones made just for me. Whether I am using my sneakers to decorate my office, wearing them, or trying to win them, it is my guiltiest pleasure by far.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Andrew Cordle for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Andrew Cordle or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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