Becoming an Entrepreneur (wsg Shiva Bhardwaj)

During this episode, You Me and Your Top Three host and CEO, CGS Advisors, Gregg Garrett, speaks with Shiva Bhardwaj, CEO Pitstop – a cloud-based Prognostic Maintenance Platform that enables enterprises to leverage the wealth of information available from their vehicle fleets. Shiva hails from Toronto and is making a name for himself in the mobility and AI industries. He discusses how his company was born from bridging being raised by a mechanic in an automotive garage with his experiences working in Silicon valley-based tech giants. He explores what it is like being early to market and how he needs to shape the minds of customers. And he shares how he successfully cracked the code on attracting some of the most sought after secret weapons in competing in today’s businesses – data scientists. And, of course, Shiva speaks about his ‘top three’ ranging from his father who gave him space to create and experiment at a very young age to a thought partner in the data science space who pushes him to be intentional about how to monetize that data to a board member who encourages him to take risks to grow. And you have to hear what Shiva has to say about how to really assess someone’s net worth.    About Shiva Bhardwaj Shiva Bhardwaj is the Founder and CEO at Pitstop. While earning a Degree in Electrical and Electrical Engineering, Shiva spent time working at NVIDIA and Blackberry QNX. Shiva started his entrepreneurship journey by inventing ShockLock (https://www.shocklock.ca) which brought a safe, simple and cost-effective hardware solution to the automotive world. The second innovation has been Pitstop (https://pitstopconnect.com).  which was an inaugural participant in the Techstars Mobility Accelerator program securing investments from Verizon, Ripple, BDC to name a few(https://betakit.com/autotech-startup-pitstop-raises-1-5-million-partners-with-continental/). Shiva has been recognized as the Vaughan Entrepreneur of the Year, SEMA 35 Under 35 and the winner of the Sci-Innovation Competition in China from a field of 1,450 international contestants. Show Highlights Segment 1: Overview 1:17        What makes entrepreneurs different? 3:40        Shiva’s Background: From Toronto to Silicon Valley. Segment 2: The “Top Three”   6: 43       Shiva’s “Top Three”: Paul Bhardwaj (his father) – hard work, controlling your own destiny, and allowing the space to learn. 13:24      Shiva’s “Top Three”: Christopher Mah – how to evaluate a problem and identify a solution and the power of data. 17:14      Shiva’s “Top Three”: Michael Garb – taking bold risks on spending capital. 18:56      A ‘being brave’ story – making the investment in people. Segment 3: Industry Disruption & Transformation   21:40      Pitstop – predicting vehicle failures before they happen.  22:35      The future is based on information and data. 25:15      Having the change before the industry is ready for the change. 30:00      How auto markets around the world differ – focuses on electric, autonomous, and what comes next. 32:41      “Using your resources in a way that will get you to some step that helps you move forward, progress and prove yourself out. And then proving yourself on a larger scale.” 35:27      “That new pivot might not be meant for everyone you’re working with. And that’s probably the hardest part.” 37:41      Pitstop’s recent successes – Grants. Awards. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles. Investment. 39:58      Paying it forward through mentorship/networking. 42:43      Hint to be at the cutting edge of technology: High-tech people are motivated by the problems they are solving. Segment 4: Leadership & Wrapping Up 45:20      “Leadership is all about your network and your network being your net worth.” 47:10      Hints to leaders: “Think about those three people around you and are those people helping align you with the biggest problem that you have on your to do list. If not, how do you bring additional people into your fold.” 48:19      Exciting Pitstop activities are in process! 49:21      Stay in touch: Email Shiva (shiva@pitstopconnect.com) and check out Pitstop’s website. Additional Information Contact Shiva Bhardwaj: Shiva’s LinkedIn Shiva’s Email Contact Pitstop: Pitstop’s Twitter Pitstop’s LinkedIn Pitstop’s Website Contact Gregg Garrett: Gregg’s LinkedIn Gregg’s Twitter Gregg’s Bio Contact CGS Advisors: Website LinkedIn Twitter

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You, Me, and Your Top Three is a podcast focused on exploring leadership in the connecting world. Specifically, the podcast invites leaders to tell stories, reflect, and discuss their views on: - disruptions in industry and society; - how they are leading transformations considering these disruptions - brave leadership to drive transformation. It is this last point where we focus most of the discussion, asking our guests to share their insights into the relationships they have with their “Top 3” closest advisors. It is our observation and experience that as the world connects, the importance of a diverse set of counselors is increasing in value. For some this may be a formal advisor who has been contracted on behalf of the company. For most this will be deep relationships in which they have been invested and nurtured. Through stories and discussion, we strive to celebrate the art of giving and receiving advice. The stories that are told are heartfelt and real. At the root we are exploring the process of knowledge building, relationship building, and perhaps most importantly, confidence building. After all, it takes a brave leader to battle the inertia that exists in industries, our organizations, and in ourselves. It is our hope that as successful leaders open up about around the subjects and the way in which they interact with their closest confidants, that our listeners will, in turn, reflect on their own “virtual board of advisors.” Over time they will then surround themselves with those who help them stretch toward greatness and lead bravely in the connecting world.