Jeff Lien
- CEO and Cofounder
- Yellow Mascot LLC
School Information
School: University of California, Irvine
College Major: Other
Years at College Works: 2009 to 2011
Career Information
Working For: Yellow Mascot LLC
Title: CEO and Cofounder
Industry: Design
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Design Studio based in Los Angeles. Maintaining customer relationships through skills in account management, consultation, direct sales, and organization.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Excelling in roles at Google and Salesforce.com and being accepted into the MBA program at USF. At all of these, being amongst the youngest in each group is a triumph in itself.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting was the foundation for my professional career, and the necessary stepping stone that allowed me to propel myself ahead of my peers.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
Meant the world to my career. Doing well at College Works Painting allowed me to immediately transition into a full-time career. The coaching and learning from College Works Painting is beyond what many companies (including Google and Salesforce.com) will actively teach you.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
I hope they know that by accepting me into their home and allowing me to learn from them and grow as an individual has made a tremendous impact on me. Those customers that were especially accommodating to a young college student are those that allow folks with huge drive succeed in life. I will always remember the work that the customers allowed me to do on something as precious as their home, and through those experiences I learned a lot about business and about myself.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Be persistent. Learn to do things right, and then add the extra 10% that is your own unique personality to go far.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
By doing well in the program and being open to learn and coach others, it’ll resonate with fellow College Works Painting individuals because they are motivated and eager to succeed. Through Chris Knight, who introduced me to the folks at Google, I was able to get my first full-time job at one of the world’s greatest companies. It’s changed my life for the better and I’m ever-grateful for the chance to have been amongst the motivated folks at College Works Painting.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Paint your own future.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
No matter who you are now and what you want to do later, if there is even a remote part of you that wants to do great things in business, College Works Painting will be one of the most rewarding (and challenging) experiences you will ever have.
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?
I majored in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology, but wanted to make an impact more so than I thought I could make with an internship. No matter where you want to go in life, being able to manage yourself and others is a key set of core skills that you can take with you wherever you decide to go.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Have persistence in sales and customer service and a passion for technology.