Healthcare startup SnapNurse revenue rockets up 9900% in response to COVID-19

Today on Riding Shotgun the Techrides Podcast, host Edwin Marcial rides with Shep Ogden, CEO and co-founder of Offbeat Media. Shep and Offbeat are pioneers in the Web3 and the virtual influencer space. Edwin and Shep are diving deep into Web3, NFTs and the Metaverse . They discuss the origins and principles of Web3, how NFTs play a valuable role in the new ownership economy, and what this means for brands navigating the evolving Metaverse. They also discuss virtual influencers. Come along for the ride in Edwin's 2015 Porsche 911 GTS.     

In this episode: 

• What is Web3
• The motivation for Web3 and the ownership economy
• What is an NFT and what is the role of an NFT in Web3
• How are NFTs are being leveraged in the Metaverse
• How are brands like Nike and McDonald's are using NFTs and staking out their own space in the Metaverse
• How the early evolution of the Internet led us to blockchain and the new Web3 world

You can watch the full video of this episode and the ride in Edwin Marcial's 2015 Porsche 911 GTS at https://techrides.io/episodes/41

Video highlight clips from this and all episodes now available at https://techrides.io/shorts

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Announcing Ticket to Ride NFTs. https://techrides.io/nft

Techrides NFTs give holders access to special digital content along with in person events, and will also support the continued development of Techrides content.        

Ever have a low battery on your cell phone and wish you could just swap it out for a fresh one with a full charge? Imagine if you could do that same thing with your car battery when it was running low? That's exactly what EV car maker NIO, Inc. has pioneered - battery swap technology that will replace a  depleted car battery with a fresh one. This is just one of the innovations that I'll talk about with Ganesh Iyer, Global Chief Information Officer (CIO) for NIO. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, NIO was started in 2014 by founder and CEO, William Li. NIO is a pioneer in China’s premium EV market driving innovation in connectivity, autonomous driving,  and charging solutions. 

So come along for the ride and get to know Ganesh and NIO, Inc. as we roll in a 2021 NIO ES8 and discuss:

• The future of EV driving
• Proprietary built in artificial intelligence (AI)
• Battery swap stations
• Battery as a Service (BAAS)
• The NIO ES8
• Autonomous Driving
• The NIO EP9 (featured in the Xbox game Forza Horizon 5 and now on display at the Peterson hypercar museum in Los Angeles)
• The EP9's autonomous world speed record set at COTA in Austin, TX

Go to https://techrides.io to watch the full episode, see pictures of our guests and cars, and watch short highlight clips.
 

Dr Ebbie Parsons is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and the founder and managing partner of Managing Director of Yardstick Management. Ebbie started Yardstick Management, a management consulting firm with a goal of improving the opportunities for underserved minorities in corporate America. Today Yardstick is a leader in management consulting solutions for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as well as Executive Search. Yardstick clients include some of the largest names in business including Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, and LinkedIn.

Today on Riding Shotgun, Edwin and Ebbie discuss:

• Ebbie’s career path, and how his desire to make a difference in the lives of underserved minorities led to his founding Yardstick
• How corporate culture impacts diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
• How the killing of George Floyd and the Great Resignation have changed the DEI landscape in Corporate America
• Advice for minorities seeking to break into corporate leadership positions and corporate boards
• The biggest lessons Ebbie has learned as an entrepreneur 
• The launch of the Yardstick Management Institute

To see the images of our guests and featured cars, and become a techrides member, go to https://techrides.io

Techrides host Edwin Marcial rides along with serial entrepreneur and investor David Cummings. David is the founder of the Atlanta Tech Village (ATV) — the United States’ 4th largest tech hub. David built ATV after selling his marketing automation software company Pardot for $100 million dollars. He is also the founder of Atlanta Tech Ventures through which he has invested in several of Atlanta’s hottest startups including Calendly,  SalesLoft and Terminus.

Join Edwin and David as they ride in David’s 2017 Acura NSX and discuss

• David’s early career in entrepreneurship including starting a software business in High School and building another Hannon Hill while a student at Duke.
• Founding and selling Pardot for $100 Million
• Why he built the Atlanta Tech Village, one of the largest startup work spaces in the US
• What he looks for in the companies he is looking to invest in
• The characteristics he thinks make a successful founder
• Key mistakes that lead to startup failures
• How startups should think about raising money
• How Atlanta’s startup ecosystem has changed post pandemic
• Advice he has for those just getting started in entrepreneurship or thinking about getting started
• The Atlanta startups companies he is most excited about

To see the full video for this episode and other episodes, along with images of our guests and featured cars, go to https://techrides.io 

Listen as Edwin discusses:

• Dropping out of college and going back to focus on his passion - Computer Science
• Navigating through rejection early in his career
• Why he left a large engineering company, and chose to work for a startup
• Transitioning away from an individual contributor to a manager/leader and CTO
• How ICE built a culture of high performance including
  • Setting big goals
  • The importance of giving employees equity in a young company
  • Emotional intelligence - understanding the people you manage.
  • Getting the ‘right people on the bus’, motivating them and removing your worst performers
  • Managing your culture, not your people
  • Innovating by thinking differently
  • Developing a process to identify and recruit the very best people
  • Competing as a team vs competing against each other
  • Building a diverse team through a focus on skills
• Emerging tech industries he is most excited about
• Competing with Enron
• Leadership in one word

Hear how:

• The nursing shortage inspired the origin story of SnapNurse
• SnapNurse answered the bell of the COVID-19 battle, and put its business into hyperdrive in the process
• How SnapMedTech has pivoted to offer payments and a SaaS platform to it's offerings
• Technology has enabled SnapNurse to leverage its growth
• A nurse strike in California led to a tremendous opportunity and response
• SnapNurse grew their business despite being turned down by just about every VC they spoke to
• The tenacity of the founders has put SnapNurse into a position to succeed
• Their journey has led to key entrepreneurship lessons

Host Edwin Marcial goes back in time to learn about the Delorean DMC-12 and then interviews Pull-A-Part CEO, Ross Kogon, about his company’s culture and success. Join us as Ross and Edwin ride in a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 and discuss a few topics including:

• The history of the DeLorean DMC-12
• The trouble and mistakes of founder John DeLorean that led to the demise of his company
• How Pull-A-Part got its start as a side business that grew into 25 locations across 12 U.S. states
• What makes the Pull-A-Part business model so unique
• How Ross got his start in the business, how he handles company culture, and his vision for leadership for the company
• How Ross sees his company playing a vital part in the self-repair industry even after electric cars overtake traditional combustion engines
• And more!

Adam Ghetti is the Founder and CEO of Ionic Security, a data security firm that uses a holistic approach to prevent information silos and backdoor hacks. Join us as Adam and Edwin ride in a 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible and discuss a few topics including:

• How Adam got his start in Tech
• Why Adam dropped out of high school and how that helped him launch his company
• Opinions on Tesla and the future of EVs and self-driving trucks
• How ridesharing is changing travel as we know it
• The importance of data security and the Equifax Data Breach
• How AI could eventually write and build its own software
• What brain data backup could mean for the future of humanity and consciousness as we know it
• And more! 

Five million young adults in the U.S. do not have a stable career pathway to well-paid jobs. Meanwhile, 12 million jobs that require post-secondary education will go unfilled in the next decade. Year Up is a non-profit organization that enables underrepresented young adults ages 18-24 to move from minimum wage to meaningful careers in just one year. 

In this podcast episode, host Edwin Marcial interviews three alumni from Year Up Atlanta: Carmen Buezo, Emanuel Romero, and Kevin Ngunjiri. Learn their background, their challenges, and obstacles within the traditional education system, and how Year Up Atlanta was able to provide them incredible opportunity for the future of their careers!

Come along for the ride as Edwin and the gang discuss a few topics including:

• The importance of Year Up as it prepares students to enter corporate environments and empowers them to effect change in their own lives 
• How companies like Aaron’s, Autotrader, Cox Automotive, and more are investing in Year Up through in corporate partnerships and are offering internships to alumni

You’ll also get to hear specifics about each of the three alumni: 

• Carmen: left Honduras after political unrest and is starting college soon. 
• What Carmen is learning through Year Up:
  • Impact of working in a corporate environment
  • Improving consumers’ ability to obtain products through data analysis and automation
  • Building reports to send to partner companies 
• Emanuel: learning how to code and develop software as a DACA recipient from Mexico
• What Emanuel is learning through Year Up:
  • Learning how to project confidence when speaking in front of other people 
  • Can now speak in front of larger groups in business settings
• Kevin: an immigrant from Kenya is driven by a desire to understand web development
• What Kevin is learning through Year Up:
  • Learning how to build and maintain websites and has a knack for accomplishing the features that customers request
  • Understanding how to work with teams when conflict arises

Gil West is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Delta Air Lines and has been with the company for 12 years. His background in engineering led him to an early career at Boeing but now he oversees the day-to-day operations at Delta, ensuring the airline is safe and reliable.

Come along for the ride as Edwin and Gil West discuss a few topics including:

• Gil's passion for cars particularly the spectacular 2020 Ford GT
• Delta’s industry-leading response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• The safety of current aircrafts and how Delta has led the charge to make airplanes as safe and sanitary as a hospital operating room
• Gil's thoughts on Boeing’s issues with the 737 Max
• Innovative startups working with Delta to transform the flight experience
• The future of aviation including electric planes and hypersonic flight
• Keys to Gil's tremendously successful career
• And more!