Alex Schwarzkopf is the CEO and co-founder of Pillar Technologies. Pillar was recently part of the first Techstars IoT program, won the Forbes Change the World competition and was named best Insurtech startup at Plug and Play. Prior to launching his startup, Alex worked at Tesla Motors in Silicon Valley, and he spent time designing scalable wireless technologies for sub-Saharan Africa.

During this interview, Mr. Schwarzkopf discusses the impact his parents had on him and what it means to "be in the fire." Through tragedy and perseverance, he has developed patience and fortitude and credits much of his success to his mother's guidance.

Check out what Alex is up to at: https://pillar.tech/