The Journey of a Software Entrepreneur with Andrew Deck (Ep. 12)

Each entrepreneur has a story to tell that can guide or motivate others who want to start
businesses.
In this episode, Brett Henderson is joined by Andrew Deck, Co-Founder and CEO of Covax
Data, to talk about his beginnings in the financial industry and what inspired him to start his own
software company. Andrew also explains the correct mindset to meet our goals.
Andrew discusses:
● What were his intentions for joining the Navy
● How he got into the investment world in Blackstone and his journey working with hedge
funds
● The reasons that made him start his own business
● The challenges he went through in his firm and what motivated him to keep trying
● The right mindset for veteran entrepreneurs
● And more!
Connect with Brett Henderson:
● 310-491-7975
● Strategic Wealth Endeavor
● brett@swe90.com
● LinkedIn: Brett Henderson
● Facebook: Strategic Wealth Endeavor
Connect with Andrew Deck:
● LinkedIn: Andrew Deck
● adeck02@gmail.com
About our Guest:
Andrew Deck is the Co-Founder and CEO of Covax Data, an early-stage software company
focused on delivering innovative solutions to complex problems. The company’s first product is
a multi-use blockchain technology built to be lightweight, highly-performant and energy-efficient.
Its capabilities, coupled with a pragmatic design, make the technology available to a wide range
of deployments previously unavailable to the technology. Andrew is a proven leader and
business developer across multiple industries. A U.S. Navy veteran, he began his career in
finance with multiple alternative asset firms including Blackstone and Mariner Investment Group.
Andrew was at Blackstone during the 2008-09 financial crisis where he managed portfolio
hedges for their $32B hedge fund portfolio and developed an innovative commodity product that
grew to $3B despite the investment climate of the time. Always bringing a unique, data-driven
approach, Andrew developed some of the early machine learning based algorithmic trading
models, as well as powerful deep-dive risk models for complex investment products. Since
leaving the world of finance, he has focused attention on the areas of cyber and data security
leveraging AI/ML and blockchain technology. A core belief – outsiders make the best innovators
– has been a key driver of Andrew’s success.