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Diondre Lewis went from a military upbringing across four continents to Duke pre-med to IBM and landed in Charlotte, the city he swore he'd never live in. Marnie and Alisa talk with the founder of Wave Rideshare about what it took to break into tech, why he started giving away free training to underserved communities, and how that nonprofit mission eventually gave birth to a safety-first ride and delivery platform. They also get into the broken economics of gig platforms, Wave's growing footprint in healthcare and professional sports, and the story of how Diondre met his wife in the YMCA basement.

Episode Highlights:
00:00 — Welcome & introducing Diondre Lewis of Wave Rideshare
01:37 — Born in Fayetteville, raised in the military: Germany, Hawaii, and everywhere in between
03:12 — Choosing Duke over full rides and surviving organic chemistry
07:55 — A pivot from pre-med to tech, inspired by IBM-bound engineering buddies
13:20 — Spamming IBM every day for a semester and landing a job in 25 minutes
24:43 — Starting a free tech training nonprofit and discovering Charlotte's transportation gap
28:42 — How Wave was born: trust, safety, and the problems gig platforms can't solve
35:36 — Wave's food delivery model and why high-value orders need a different kind of driver
41:15 — Healthcare, professional sports, and the exotic car division
38:45 — Meeting his wife in the YMCA basement, the one he always knew was coming

About This Week's Guest:
Diondre Lewis is the founder and CEO of Wave Rideshare, a Charlotte-based transportation company built around safety, trust, and accountability. A Duke University graduate who pivoted from pre-med to tech after stints in IBM research and training, Diondre spent years helping underserved communities access technology skills before identifying transportation as the hidden barrier behind his nonprofit's attendance problem. That insight became Wave — now serving healthcare systems, professional sports organizations, restaurants, and individuals who need more than a gig platform can offer. He lives in Charlotte with his wife, a music professional with sync licensing credits and studio connections, and their family.

Connect with Diondre & Wave Rideshare:
Follow Diondre on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmajorbnr/
Follow Wave Rideshare: https://www.instagram.com/waverideshare/

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