Andrea Armstrong, Energetic, Individualistic Cyber-Protection Expert  

I met Andrea Armstrong in December 2014 at the MoDev Conference in Arlington, VA.

Andrea was one of three amazing tech professionals on the “women in tech” panel I was planning to moderate. Upon a resumé review, however, it was decided (happily) that I had an abundance of technical talent to inspire the audience of both women and men, so the organizers and I chose to eliminate gender as a panel topic. The “women in tech” event thus became the “Cracking The KickAss Mobile Tech Career:  Advice From Insiders” panel, and I got to work unpacking the careers of Andrea and the other participants.

Andrea is the CEO and Founder of Turnaround Technology. Her company is a boutique consulting, education, and services company providing white glove cyber, privacy, and mobile management services for executives and their families. Andrea has over twenty years’ experience with IT in the public and private sectors (with eleven years in all three branches of the government).

This accomplished professional also has a law degree, and a master’s in Information Systems Technology.  She is a national speaker on cyber topics, privacy, social media, wearable tech and mobile devices. Andrea has also taught at George Washington University and Michigan State University.

She is without doubt a role model both for women in IT and the Puerto Rican community.  What else? She’s a working mother of five and grandmother to one. When I asked Andrea “what the worst for her is” I was not shocked by this game-changer’s answer: “When people bash working mothers. I went back to school after my oldest was born. So I went to school and worked with my children. I don’t like it when people bash women for trying to improve themselves. Young women need to be built up and not torn down for trying to provide something better for their children.  And this is saying nothing about stay-at-home moms because I have done that too. I just feel like a lot of folks giving working women a hard time.”  Read on for more honest responses from this accomplished woman.

Define “entrepreneur.”
Before starting my own company, I thought an entrepreneur was someone who started their own “big” business; it was that person on the cover of Forbes.

But once I started my own endeavor, I understood it to be much more, because I began to seek out certain types of people from whom I could learn. I looked for founders of new ventures. Whether a leader of a big business or hair stylist who rents her own station, I wanted to find a person who grew something and made it successful.

An entrepreneur is someone who wants to do something different with his or her life. It is someone who can withstand criticism and doubt. While I am running a tech-focused company, I still seek advice from anyone who has grown something. Some of my most valuable business advice came from a service-disabled veteran who started a company out of his basement – and five years later, had a ten million dollar federal-contracting business.  There was also a hairstylist from Africa who left her job as a mall hair stylist to rent a station in a high-end salon. Both businesses are very different in size and goals — but both individuals have a keen business sense and are extremely successful in their own right.

Who are your heroes?
My grandmother, Andrea who was the original short glamourous Puerto Rican Shero  [feminist], and my Aunt Maria, who died long before me. (Interviewer’s note: Andrea has inherited her grandmother’s drive, ambition and height!)

Both were born in Puerto Rico, and both came to America with nothing. My grandmother was 4’9” and her sister, Maria, was 4’8”. Maria came to the U.S. first and started working in the plantations of Hawaii, and then the fields of California picking fruit.

She built a small empire after she settled in California, owning real estate, and then brought all of her family from Puerto Rico, including my grandmother. In spite of all of her challenges and not speaking English, she was smart and determined. What she did in the early 1900’s makes her badass in my book!

What is your current challenge?  
It’s always the same: balance.

Your greatest achievement?
My children.  And getting my GED.

What is your motto?
“The water is always coldest when you first jump in.” Know that it’s always the getting started that is most difficult.

Why are you an entrepreneur?
My whole life, I heard that I needed to “get a good job.” The goal is to find the best job right? Working for someone else, it’s safe and you have benefits. But my friend from grad school, Masha Sharma, really inspired me to do it.  She owns a startup company, Total Pass, and a web- design firm called CitrusWorks.

We would talk about how she was starting her businesses and the growing pains. I watched her.  She is a phenomenal self-taught DBA/Developer, Scrum Master, Agile everything. She is the hipster that I vicariously live through, but we are actually so similar.  Between her and my husband, who pushes me to keep climbing, I launched my company. Both of them told me I could do it. Sometimes that’s all you need.

What problem are you solving?
Hacks are happening on a daily basis, the most recent with Sony and Centcom. Many times, companies focus on the data; I am trying to solve the problems that the individuals experience, no matter what level they are in an organization.  It is difficult to stop, but you can prepare and mitigate.  Companies need to prepare their entire workforce so that they understand what to do if their data or devices are hacked. What do they do if someone threatens to harm them? Planning and education can make all the difference. 

Many times, leaders of companies and those in government need to protect their electronic and mobile presence or persona. Or as noted in recent news articles, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt hired a team to monitor their children online.

That is where my company comes in. We provide the highest quality cyber service to individuals and organizations. We partner with companies that provide products that will make your participation in social media safer. Right now, I am vetting products and processes that can assist with providing more anonymity to your mobile and online experience.

What problem would you like solved?
Extremism in any form. It’s dangerous.

Item you wish you had invented?
iPhone.

Biggest regret?
I wish I would have paid more attention in high school.

Essential app(s).
Facebook. It allows me to keep up with family and friends because all of my time is dedicated to work and my immediate family. I can check in on extended family in the middle of the night without waking them up with a phone call.

Which productivity tools (app/ software/office supplies) do you use most often?
I’m always on the lookout for great apps to make me more efficient.

Best discovery?
Any United States Small Business Association (SBA) District Office. Look for an office near you at www.sba.gov.  My SBA counselor has helped me tremendously. Most important, services are FREE!

Which talent would you like to have? 
Doesn’t everyone want to be a singer??

Best pat on the back you’ve ever received?
A client once threw aside my report and said, “You didn’t have to write this. We don’t need all of this formality. Now that you have looked at everything, I just want to know what you think — honestly tell us.” The fact that my client trusted my findings made me even more dedicated to making sure that my subject matter expertise is based on deliberate thought, research and fact. A client’s trust in your expertise should never be taken for granted.

Advice you wish you’d had (or had followed)?
I wish I had understood that I should focus on improving my strengths early in my career, rather than focus on improving my weaknesses.

Your pitch in 140 characters?
“Need help? Call Turnaround Technology. Personal and organizational threat management, education and services.”

Your bio in 6 words?
“Work, Love, Smile, Live, Laugh, Overcome.” 

Are you on Twitter?
Yes – @AnAHAMoment.

The Twitter follower you can’t live without?
@ILoveMyPebble because they retweeted several of my tweets. And the #wearabletech crowd is a lively bunch on Twitter.

What’s your hashtag?
#Needahashtag. 

Your nails on a chalkboard moment is?
When people insult you, then expect you to partner with them.  I don’t know why people think that will make them more seem successful.

The J.O.B. you’d actually like?
I would have liked to be a judge sitting next to Simon on X Factor, to find a Susan Boyle or Jonathan and Charlotte!

Biggest misconception about being an entrepreneur?
That you will hire anyone. I love it when people say they will come work for me — without telling me why they want to, or what they can bring to the table. If I am going to bet on you to grow with me, then I need to see some hunger, enthusiasm and hard work.

Inc. or Rolling Stone or…..? Which magazine cover?
Time (and really, Oxygen would be awesome too!).

What are you reading?
In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez [multiple award-winning Dominican-American novelist, essayist and poet who has had several of her books made into films.  Now Writer-in-Residence at Middlebury College.]

What is your must-read?
The novel Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor.

If I wanted to do what you’re doing…what’s your advice?
Never quit!

What conference would you like to keynote?
Any Forbes Conference.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
Getting stuck watching hours of The Big Bang Theory and Lord of the Rings marathons!

Short cut, long route, or road less traveled? What’s your roadmap?
Sometimes “road never traveled.” Take a machete and cut your way through. Rest when you need to, then get up and start cutting again. You will never know what you will find.

Podium you’d like to stand on?
University of California Regent.

The memories of a chef are tastes and smells; what would you say are the memories of an entrepreneur?
Mistakes and lessons.

What makes you LOL?
Right now, Silver Linings Playbook. Everyone is a little crazy; you just have to know how to deal with them. And the movies Nacho Libre and Talladega Nights (Ricky Bobby) — crazy people with good hearts. Love it!

Who or what inspires you?
I am inspired by people who have overcome tremendous hardship, but managed not to be bitter, and instead push forward. In a world full of bitterness, anger and people who are downright mean and dirty…you can find innovation, kindness, compassion, and creativity in the most unexpected people.

What’s the most important startup/entrepreneurship lesson you’ve learned?
You make mistakes all of the time. Don’t get stuck — just learn and move on, you will be wiser for it.

What would be the title of your biography?
No Matter What, You Must Keep Living.

Favorite gadget?
Blender.

Your Ferris Bueller moment: if you could goof-off/skip out for a day, what would you do?
Sneak to NYC and see Broadway show Wicked again!

One place in time you’d like to visit?
The Harlem Renaissance [the period between the early 1920’s and 1930’s, when scores of black artists, scholars and its creative class flocked to the New York neighborhood.]  So many smart and creative people in one place, solving problems, producing art and thinking.

Part of the trick to staying focused?
Knowing that it’s OK to be focused.

Where can readers of “In Conversation With” connect with you online?
On Twitter:  @AnAHAMoment, and on my website: turnaroundtech.com.

One last thing: what’s the question I should be asking you?
You asked all of the right things.  One final thought however: Many people define themselves by what they do, never knowing that who they are is what really defines them.