R.T. Custer
- Co-Founder, and CEO
- Vortic Watch Co
School Information
School: Penn State University
College Major: Engineering
Years at College Works: 2010 to 2011
Career Information
Working For: Vortic Watch Co
Title: Co-Founder, and CEO
Industry: Retail
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Vortic Watch Company is a small batch, custom, watch manufacturing and vintage restoration company located in Northern Colorado. Our focus and belief system revolves around revitalizing manufacturing in the United States by combining traditional and cutting edge technology to create unique, quality, functional products with exceptional value.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Making the Fortune 100 companies I always wanted to work for fight over me for a full time job.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting gave me the confidence I needed to excel in my life, and the results to prove to myself that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to do.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
College Works Painting gave me the results I needed on my resume to sit in the interviews I wanted. It got me my first great engineering internship, and even after two great engineering internships with top companies, the companies interviewed with for my full time job wanted to hear about this painting thing I did when I was a freshman/sophomore.
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?
The Whites taught me my most important lesson. How to handle a time when you messed up. I can’t count the number of times I used that story in an interview. I’d like to thank them for being just the right amount of harsh on me, and apologize again for making their driveway pink.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Relationships are Everything. If you can build a relationship with someone and they trust you to make decisions for them, your life will be so much easier when you need something from them in the future.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
I now run a business with two of my interns from when I was a DM, and my two best friends were my friends when I was in College Works Painting. I finally met people who were like me. Ambitious, out-going, intelligent, and very driven.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Students working hard to become entrepreneurs, one house at a time.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
If you’re not afraid of hard work, or getting your hands dirty, College Works Painting will give you a crash course on the real world. Don’t be afraid to take risks and put yourself out there. The worst thing that can happen is you’ll get the door slammed in your face. The best part about that is… there are plenty more doors that will open ahead of you.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Your target industry may not hire you if you are not a well rounded individual, or you do not have any results from any prior work. College Works Painting will make you a great candidate for any job, and will prove through results that you are a hard worker.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
Spending a late summer day with the VPs in Philly after finishing all my work early.
Last words of wisdom?
Winners Make It Happen