From Hospitality to Tech Sales at 38 with Michael Steffen | Ep062

Описание: Ever meet someone who spent 20 years opening casinos and managing nightclub marketing then pivoted into cybersecurity at 38 with no CS degree and no certifications? That's Michael Steffen's story.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
Michael built his entire career on one skill most tech companies overlook: the ability to meet people where they are. From Las Vegas Strip night clubs to a $7 billion casino opening in the Philippines to DEF CON volunteer work, every chapter sharpened something the tech industry desperately needs and rarely talks about.

KEY TOPICS COVERED:
• Growing up between Connecticut, California, and Las Vegas and what being the odd one out taught him
• Learning HTML and building online communities as a teen before "tech" was a career
• 20 years in Las Vegas hospitality: restaurants, the Wynn, Caesars Cromwell, and Linq
• First leadership role: the hard lesson of ownership and why "you have to eat it"
• Three years in the Philippines opening a $7 billion casino resort
• Raising a daughter by FaceTime - and what that sacrifice clarified
• Sitting in a boardroom with Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta: knowing your numbers, saying the hard thing
• Why the Palms closing pushed him toward a career he never expected
• The jiu-jitsu training partner who told him he was miserable and handed him a Security+ study guide
• Getting to the top 10% on TryHackMe starting at 38
• Three years volunteering at DEF CON: how it opened every door
• Why soft skills are the most undervalued asset in tech right now
• The difference between networking and building organic relationships
• Parting advice: do the hard thing, even when you can't see the payoff

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
01:37 Michael's Current Role: Targeted Account Sales in Tech
04:00 Growing Up: Connecticut, California, Las Vegas
07:42 Learning HTML and Building Community Online as a Teen
13:00 Working Las Vegas Hospitality: Restaurants and the Strip
20:00 The Wynn: XS and Tryst. Where Soft Skills Got Serious
27:00 Moving to Caesars: Launching Cromwell and Linq
33:00 First Leadership Role: Ownership, Accountability, and Learning to Let Go
40:00 The Philippines: Opening a $7 Billion Casino Resort
46:19 Raising a Daughter by FaceTime: Sacrifice and Perspective
52:26 The Palms Opening and the Fertitta Boardroom
55:45 Building Organic Relationships: The Rolodex Lesson
01:01:01 Say the Hard Thing: What the Boardroom Really Demands
01:06:07 The Palms Closes and Everything Shifts
01:09:14 The Jiu-Jitsu Pivot: "Man, You Are Miserable"
01:11:14 Getting Into Security+ and TryHackMe at 38
01:16:24 Volunteering at DEF CON: Three Years with CTQ
01:17:29 Soft Skills in Tech: The Conversation the Industry Isn't Having
01:26:11 Parting Thoughts: Do the Hard Thing
01:29:36 Las Vegas as a Convention Hub: Go Volunteer

ABOUT MICHAEL STEFFEN:
Michael Steffen spent over two decades in hospitality and marketing from Las Vegas nightclubs to a $7 billion resort opening in the Philippines. At 38, a jiu-jitsu training partner told him he was miserable and handed him a Security+ study guide. He passed. He volunteered at DEF CON for three years. He's now in targeted account sales in the cybersecurity space, building a career on the soft skills most of the industry undervalues.

CONNECT WITH MICHAEL STEFFEN:
LinkedIn:   / myksteffen  

ABOUT CAREER DOWNLOADS:
Career Downloads is a technology career podcast hosted by Manuel Martinez, exploring diverse career paths in the tech industry. Each episode features conversations with professionals sharing their journeys, lessons learned, and actionable advice for managing your own career more successfully.

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