Talking DEI with Ebbie Parsons, Managing Director, Yardstick Management

Web3, NFTs, virtual influencers and the Metaverse with Shep Ogden

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 [https://techrides.io/episodes/41] Video highlight clips from this and all episodes now available at https://techrides.io/shorts [https://techrides.io/shorts] *************** Announcing Ticket to Ride NFTs. https://techrides.io/nft [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.

EV Riding with Ganesh Iyer, Global CIO of NIO, Inc.

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 [https://www.nio.com/]. 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 [https://techrides.io/guestProfileNIO] 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) [https://techrides.io/episodes/14006] * Battery swap stations [https://techrides.io/episodes/14003] * Battery as a Service (BAAS) [https://techrides.io/episodes/14004] * The NIO ES8 [https://techrides.io/episodes/14001] * Autonomous Driving * The NIO EP9 [https://techrides.io/episodes/14007] (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 [https://techrides.io/episodes/14007] set at COTA in Austin, TX Go to https://techrides.io [https://techrides.io/shorts] to watch the full episode, see pictures of our guests and cars, and watch short highlight clips.

Talking DEI with Ebbie Parsons, Managing Director, Yardstick Management

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 [https://techrides.io]

David Cummings, Founder, Atlanta Tech Village and Atlanta Ventures

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

From academic probation to co-founding a Fortune 500 company valued over 60B: Edwin Marcial discusses leadership lessons learned throughout his career

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