Andrew Dickow graduated from Michigan State with a degree in finance in 2006. During his time as a student, he served as philanthropy chair of Pi Kappa Alpha and was a member of the Finance Association.
He first caught the entrepreneurial itch while participating in various classroom group projects.
“One thing that molded me and fueled my zeal for entrepreneurship is just how group projects are facilitated at Michigan State. You’re always being put into teams with people who possess a variety of unique skillsets very different from your own. You really have to try to figure out how to work together. I think through a lot of these group projects, you get a sense of what it’s like running a small business or company.”
After graduation, Andrew spent nearly a decade at General Mills working all over the U.S. and traveling across the globe to places like Buenos Aires and Johannesburg. During his time there he also conducted mergers and acquisitions and cut his teeth in corporate development and finance. His experiences generated the perfect storm: Armed with knowledge and connections, he was prepared to launch his own entrepreneurial ventures.
“I knew that I had developed the skillset from some of the smartest people—I’d argue in the world— and I thought I wanted to leverage what I learned at a publicly-traded company,” he said.
A jack of all trades, he currently serves as the Managing Director at Greenwich Capital Group, an investment bank, and Towsend Street Capital, a private equity fund. In addition, he serves as CFO and Managing Partner for 1701 Hospitality, which owns several restaurants in the Metro Detroit Area, and is an investor in several small Michigan-based companies.
As with many who are part of the restaurant and hospitality industry, COVID-19 posed myriad challenges.
“That was a really challenging environment; but, between grant monies, PPP funding, and just being resilient, we were able to come out of it. Now, we’re seeing record numbers at our restaurants and we’re thankful and fortunate to have come through that,” Andrew said.
Always hungry for more, Dickow hasn’t let the pandemic slow down his business or personal ventures. Greenwich has opened three additional offices in Ohio, Tennessee, and California, and added a few Spartans to their rapidly expanding team. Pop Daddy, a snack company he’s invested in, has expanded to over 8,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
“I like to be somewhat diversified, but success is found when you build absolutely great teams. People who have an entrepreneurial mindset. You have to empower them to be successful. You have to make sure you never get greedy. So, one thing I’ve always prided myself on is when I hit home runs, all the people that work side-by-side with me can hit home runs as well.”
What’s Andrew’s secret to balancing it all? “I’m very transparent about my time commitments,” he said, “I always need to know whether it’s going to be a lot or a little. Regardless, when I show up, ’m engaged. I’m always physically and mentally present,” he said.
Andrew shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he wants to continue to positively impact those he works with through his many ventures.
“Everything I touch, in every organization that I’m a part of, whether that be our investment bank or the private equity firm, I’d like to see those brought to scale. I’d like to create opportunities for all our employees and see growth and create more jobs and create upward mobility for everybody involved. I want them to succeed beyond their wildest dreams.”
Andrew considers his time at MSU to be a blessing and continues to show his support for students in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Michigan State is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. It is the most phenomenal experience. I want to be a number one supporter and champion of this program so that there could be more entrepreneurs coming out of Michigan State.”