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VoltSafe Blog Team – May 3, 2023
Gaurav Parmar, our dedicated and hard-working Sales Associate and MBA student, is having fun implementing the lessons from his class here at VoltSafe. He sees it as an exceptional kind of learning relationship. It’s come in handy for him when he has to create go to market reports, performing outreach to B2B customers and with technical writing. He can implement everything he learns at school to his job at VoltSafe immediately. At the same time, he also receives valuable mentorship from VoltSafe’s CEO Trevor Burgess, CFO Scott Carlson and VP of Business Development Phil Garber. They pass on advice, tips and tricks and best practices to him from their business training. They also provide feedback on what to focus on in his studies at Simon Fraser University.
Most students will tell you that taking classes and working simultaneously can be draining. Especially when you study during the day and work nights. The pay is unrewarding and it is usually for jobs that are unrelated to your studies. Gaurav figured out early on that most evening and night job positions didn’t pay as much as a day job. So he got a job as an automotive service technician in Grade 11, then moved into a managerial position for seven years, so that he would have the flexibility required to work 10 hour shifts during the day, then attend business classes at Kwantlen Polytechnic University at night.
Gaurav worked these shifts seven days a week for two to four weeks at a time, before taking a break. He believes this is how he developed his discipline and work ethic. He learned to wake up early for work then return home to prepare for school. Once he returned from school, he focused on completing his homework before going to sleep. He did that for five years.
Strict discipline was carved out early in his life. Gaurav has been an early riser since high school. Waking up at 6:30 am to shower and get ready for school, then either walk or take the bus to school. He continued his early morning routine into his weekends. Now he doesn’t need an alarm to wake him up anymore. His motivation back then, was simply to get to school on time. These days it’s to match the working hours of B2B partners on the East Coast. With an early day that starts at 5am, he is able to be mentally focused for early morning meetings with potential partners.
Gaurav’s experience as an automotive technician also provided him with the inside knowledge required to speak with automotive partners about VoltSafe Winter’s advantages and how it addresses their customers’ needs.
He has become a familiar face at trade shows now that he has presented VoltSafe to different potential B2B partners. Gaurav enjoys witnessing their reactions when encountering VoltSafe Marine. While VoltSafe Marine may look like a regular shore power plug at first glance, it’s the prongless design which catches their interests. Once they learn how the pedestal connection works and resolves the pain points that all marinas encounter, from safety, right down to billing issues, they immediately want to know more. Most can’t believe that it has taken this long to create a shore power connector that addresses the major issues in the industry. They all believe that VoltSafe Marine should be the standard in that space. After seeing how VoltSafe Marine works, the attendees will bring back their bosses to the booth, and then their bosses bring their bosses to the VoltSafe booth. All so they can witness the extraordinary technology themselves. Many are then ready to schedule a meeting with VoltSafe to find out how they can get this technology to their marina.
For Gaurav, his biggest lesson came from attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This year was his second time there representing VoltSafe. But this year was the first time VoltSafe had prototypes available for attendees to experience the technology for themselves. Most of the attendees at the VoltSafe booth upon seeing the tech knew how they wanted to use VoltSafe’s connectors in their industry. They were pleasantly surprised to see VoltSafe’s innovative magnetic connector prototypes before their eyes including the company’s marine solution, general purpose connector, and home solutions.
Since attending CES the previous year in 2022, Gaurav attended about six to seven conferences which prepared him for 2023’s CES conference. His schooling also provided him with the skills needed to interact with B2B partners. What he took away from the experience was that it expanded his understanding of the decision making process when it comes to how a business decides to move forward with a product.
Gaurav’s experience hasn’t been all about catching the sunrise and attending endless trade shows. He has had some fun times at VoltSafe. His most memorable so far was beating CTO Sanad Aridah and CFO Scott Carlson in fantasy football. He is especially proud of winning after never watching a football game and having no strategy for his fantasy picks. He won the coveted VoltSafe Fantasy Football trophy and earned some bragging rights he will never give up. He also loves playing fetch with Chief Barketing Officer Derby Breker and getting belly rubs. To clarify it is he who gives Derby belly rubs. But he has no plans to introduce an office pup of his own to the VoltSafe team. With his busy lifestyle, it wouldn’t be possible.
When it comes to sports Gaurav counts himself among the many hockey fans in Canada and the modest amount of soccer fans in the country. The Canucks and Penguins are his favourite hockey teams and… sorry Liverpool fans, he’s a Man United fan all the way when he isn’t cheering on Real Madrid.
Watching a hockey or soccer game or UFC event with friends is how he likes to spend his Sundays. Don’t be fooled though, there’s still time for discipline on his weekends. He uses his Saturdays which begin bright and early at 6am to hit the gym and catch up on chores like grocery shopping and laundry. He believes that this sort of disciplines lifestyle is the reason that he beat Sanad and Scott in VoltSafe’s annual fantasy football pool.
Gaurav just celebrated his two year anniversary working at VoltSafe, and we are so happy to have him on our team. Extreme discipline is how he has been able to successfully partake in both an educational and career journey at the same time. If you are an engineering or business student, do you think you might enjoy doing the same? If you would like to know if a similar career opportunity is available for you at VoltSafe, head over to check out our careers page.