When Andrew Aw ’06 graduated from Cal State Fullerton, the business college’s building was under construction and the Great Recession was still in the future.
Now co-founder and CFO of Cabernet AI, Aw is a guest speaker this fall for the CSUF Finance Association.
Venture capitalists might stereotypically be in the latter stages of their careers. However, Aw was already in the venture capital space in his late 20s, thanks to the insights gathered through a Cal State Fullerton finance education, including being in the first class that Finance Lecturer Mike Milligan taught back in 2004.
“Mike deserves a lot of credit for inspiring me to pursue a career in finance,” says Aw. “When I was a student, we chatted a lot about Mike’s Wall Street and basketball careers. I was also the student chairman for the CFA Society of Orange County Foundation so I stayed in touch with Mike and my classmates post-undergrad.”
With the guidance of Milligan, Aw landed a financial analyst role at Ingram Micro, where he forecasted budgeting for the $16 billion North America business. By the time he left Ingram in fall 2014, he was a manager on the corporate development team focused on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate strategy, in addition to architecting their corporate venture practice.
“It can be challenging for a recent grad to break through for some of these opportunities,” says Aw. “But I’ve been fortunate to have great mentors – such as Mike –who provided me with platforms to learn, and helped advocate for me and gave me confidence to advocate for myself.”
In 2017, with automotive technology including connectivity, self-driving cars, and electrification on the horizon, Aw became senior associate on the strategy and growth team for Hyundai.
Most recently, Aw served as senior director of corporate development and finance for Happy Money, partnering with the CEO to engineer a sale to a large private equity firm and TruStage, before deciding to build Cabernet AI – an AI-powered application to help investment banks and private equity firms – with his co-founders and support from top tier venture capital investors.
“You’re starting from a blank slate, building the product and processes from scratch,” says Aw. “Being an AI-first business is important to us. We consider platforms that are AI-focused when we add vendors to our tech stack. I’m switching hats on a daily – if not hourly – basis. One moment, the focus might be business development. The next, it might be finance or legal. It’s been a really exciting journey.”
Aw encourages finance grads interested in taking on Wall Street roles or entrepreneurship to consider working for others first before going independent.
“It’s absolutely doable to pursue a finance role at a startup right out of college, but you might not have the tribal knowledge or technical understanding of the complexities required tomorrow, next month or next year,” cautions Aw.
“Spend a couple years working for large companies or startups with great mentors that can provide you with a strong foundation. Finance is generally an apprenticeship model. But don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and learn as much as you can from everyone in the organization,” he says.
“Be proud of being an alum from a great institution. Never let the perception or views of an external party keep you from your dreams. Your education will prepare you for whatever you want to pursue if you’re willing to persist through the challenges and roadblocks. Success is not linear. Having a growth mindset is vital.”
About California State University, Fullerton
From a world-class applied portfolio program known as Titan Capital Management, which in 2024 is celebrating a new state-of-the-art investment space, bachelor’s and master’s programs in finance, Cal State Fullerton is the finance education hub of the West Coast.
For more on launching your finance career through Cal State Fullerton or to give back as an alumnus, alumna or Southern California business professional, visit the Department of Finance web presence. Or read more of our articles on Titan finance.
