TheBridge profile: Reid Vineis

Name: Reid Vineis

Current city: Los Angeles, CA

Current job: Director of Digital, Majority Strategies

Past job: Sr. Manager, Strategic Public Partners

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Pret a Manger on Capitol Hill because I finally have memorized the wifi password.

Q. Describe one way how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your new job. Working with with clients in my previous job taught me how to properly manage expectations, which is especially important in my current role. In digital advertising, clients often don't have context for what is reasonable to expect. As with any technical field, I've learned the importance of taking the time to properly explain the process, what to expect and typical outcomes. A little bit of time up front can save a lot of explanation on the back end.

Q. Job advice in three words? Network. Hustle. Repeat.

Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech? We use propriety data to target a specific audience, develop emotionally impactful creative content that conveys a compelling message, and deliver that information through our own tech stack, in order to solve problems our clients have with either voters, constituents, or consumers.

To do this, we've become more of a technology company than an advertising firm. The benefit for the political community is that candidates are getting becoming more educated about tech, using more sophisticated tactics, and having better outcomes. We're bringing the inquisitive nature and best tools from tech and marrying them with our political campaigns.

Q: Favorite app? Lately, its Rover - an app to manage dog walkers/sitters. Very good user experience and marketing.

Q: Startup to Watch? Benja. SF based e-commerce app and ad tech platform. Mobile e-comm is taking off and they've built a very savvy platform for both advertisers and consumers.

Q: Favorite restaurant? Tar and Roses in Santa Monica, CA. Consistently great food. Not pretentious, but book in advance.

Q: Living person you admire? Steve Gleason. Steve is a former star NFL player for the New Orleans Saints and now is an advocate for people who are battling ALS. He has ALS himself, yet despite his illness he has had a tremendous positive impact including passing federal legislation to secure funding for ALS patients. I highly reccomend the documentary about his life, Gleason, or following @TeamGleason.

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