We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Dressel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I took my biggest risk when I moved to LA 17 years ago not really knowing anyone to pursue a short lived acting career. I knew if I didn’t take that chance after getting laid off from my very corporate marketing job, I would have some haunting regrets. While acting did not work out, I learned to: sell myself as a brand, find common ground with many different personalities, keep on learning new skills and most importantly, deal with tons of rejection. These skills would help me in sales career as they were very applicable.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a VP of Sales for a tech company that specializes in marketing measurement and influencer work. I am proud that I “paid my dues” over the years and have developed a great network of clients who continue to work with me wherever I work. I overall pride myself on being on top of business trends so I believe clients trusted my ability to deliver for them. I have to also mention that I was a very early adopter of linkedin (starting in 2008) so I feel this gave me an advantage over the years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start off with boat ride in Marina del Rey with a To Go box from Sugarfish. We would then drive down the PCH and hang out in Malibu with a short hike somewhere to see the sunset. We would then come back to Santa Monica to karaoke at the Gas Lite

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many but I have to first mention that I was lucky to have a supporting family who lent me some money early in career as Los Angeles was quite expensive. I also had some acting friends and teachers at the Larry Moss Studios who also taught me to persevere and to network at all times. I had to do many emotional monologues in front of them so we all had a special kinship so perhaps that is why I am still close with them.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/dressel

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