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Join Vivas Kumar, CEO, and Co-Founder of Mitra Chem, as we discuss why power and influence are essential topics for people doing their own startups. This episode packs an incredible set of actionable insights from a leader in the race to end climate change. Vivas explains how he used and will continue to use the concepts learned in my The Paths to Power class at Stanford GSB.

In this episode, you will learn:

The motivation for Vivas’ family to move to the U.S. from Singapore 20 years ago

His realization that education goes well beyond just books

Why just putting your head down and working hard to be successful is not true

Who plays by a different set of rules, and the results gained

Acquiring power and influence to enact positive change in the world

Mitra Chem’s mission to solve climate change and how it got funded

What he learned from working for Elon Musk

Why IQ and EQ have certain limits while relationships have none

Transforming relationships into resources

The learned skills of speaking and acting with power and confidence

Joining Toastmasters to get out of his own way and a critical skill learned

Going beyond the fear of failure and failing with integrity

Vivas’ ability to create resources and activate his network

Marrying confidence with urgency to solve a global problem

How he built an identity associated with solving the problem of batteries

Why in-person meetings build credibility and gravitas

The ultimate two resources

What to do rather than ask someone for an investment

Vivas Kumar is the CEO and Co-Founder of Mitra Chem. He was previously at Tesla as a senior manager responsible for the global battery supply chain, and a Principal at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. He earned a BS in electrical engineering from Rice University, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivaswathkumar/