Andreea Brescan has been with Duetto for six years, her role involves working with casinos and hotels all over the world to train them on using the Duetto applications and assist them in building their Revenue Strategy.
A self-confessed number junkie, with a master’s in economics from UNLV, Andreea worked first as a financial analyst and then in Revenue Strategy for Caesars Entertainment, Inc. She ran revenue at the flagship property Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino and opened the first Nobu hotel in the world within Caesars Palace. She was part of the opening team for SLS Casino (now Sahara Las Vegas) before joining the team at Duetto.
We caught up with her to find out more about her career path to Duetto, her earlier ambitions to be a race car driver, and her advice for young women considering their career options today.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
When I was little, I wanted to become a race car driver. I do have a need for speed!
However, I was also attracted to numbers and I always loved math and science. And so when I had the opportunity to study economics at UNLV, I was very excited. It was definitely a perfect fit for me. From that I kind of fell into revenue management, which really ties into supply and demand, pricing and forecasting basic principles of economics.
What's the thing that you like the most about what you do at Duetto?
Working with different types of casinos in different types of markets. I feel like there's something to learn every single day. And it also allows me to bring the knowledge I have and share that with new teams and any new companies that we’re onboarding. But then at the same time I get to learn from them and understand what they do in their markets and so while it is challenging, at the same time it’s very rewarding.
Another thing I love is how innovative we are and how we work together as one big team in order to make the product better and make our clients more successful.
My favorite part is, through our managed services contracts, I get to use the application every single day as our clients would. I feel that gives me a different perspective and an opportunity to work with the product team to uncover things that can be added to our features.
I do enjoy teaching and showing people how to use the application and seeing how excited they get when there’s something that's going to shave off tons of hours out of their week because our products so efficient.
How did you come to join Duetto?
I had known Marco [Benvenuti] and AJ [Anuj Jenveja] for a long time. AJ had worked at Caesars with me. He joined the company pretty much from the beginning. Nevin joined the company in November of 2013 and so I got even more excited about the opportunity to work with some amazing peeps from Caesars.
After Duetto’s second round of funding, I met with Marco for lunch and he presented me with the opportunity. I was already very excited and had wanted to work for Duetto for a long time. It was just meant to be. And I feel like that was one of the best decisions I could ever make to join Duetto.
I've grown so much. I've learned so much and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
What attracted you to Duetto? Culture or Product?
It was definitely both. Getting to work in the environment that we get to work in, having the amazing product that we have and showing our awesome clients what it can do is the trifecta.
Everyone is accepted for who they are. Everyone's idea is respected, and everyone is encouraged to bring their best to the table. There is no wrong question or wrong answer, just a huge collaboration from the beginning.
We have an amazing group of people at Duetto and we are very fortunate to be in the environment we're in and be able to grow and learn together and, hopefully, make the hospitality industry a better place because of that.
What one piece of advice would you give younger girls that are considering their career options?
Dream big. I know it sounds cheesy, but nothing is impossible. As long as you work hard, you're not afraid to show what you know, and you find mentors and people who inspire you. For me that's been huge because I've had amazing role models in my life.
And never stop learning. Never stop being curious and always trust in your own abilities.
When you are presented with a challenge just go for it. You can do more than you can imagine.