Robotics is not new to this planet; it has been in use for decades. But with the numerous ground breaking advancements in IT, robotics has now found a fresh momentum and has widened its reach to a diverse array of services that touch the lives of the common man. Telepresence robots are one such advance that is gaining popularity all across the world. It offers a plethora of advantages to the end user. Telepresence robots allow you to have an instant presence wherever you are and whenever you want. Its ability to eliminate the need of being physically present at the actual site saves valuable time and money. These facets are attracting people towards it and have been the prime reason behind its burgeoning popularity. According to the research data, the service robotics industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 15.8% from 2016-2022, and its market size is expected to reach a gigantic $24 billion by 2022.
Exaptec is one such firm that offers a wide range of exemplary robotics services to its clients. And the brain behind this prominent robotics firm is CEO Nicci Rossouw. Nicci’s sharp business acumen and continuous learning attitude led the company to grow its workforce from being the sole operator to 12 people in the last 5 months. She holds the distinction of selling their first batch of double robots in less than three months to various eminent clients in Australia and New Zealand. Apart from being a successful entrepreneur, she takes her social responsibilities very seriously. She has a deep passion for educating and mentoring youths and wants to create plenty of jobs for Australians in Australia. Her vigorous and enthusiastic demeanor is transforming Exaptec’s growth to the next level.
A brief Journey of a Vibrant Entrepreneur
Nicci is a passionate person and enjoys the journey of life! She has come across many challenging circumstances but never bowed before them. After successfully completing a Diploma in Business Management, she chose to pursue an LLB degree from the Rand Afrikaans University, in Johannesburg South Africa. But her financial situation did not allow her to continue and she took up a sales job in the pharmaceutical industry. Soon, she married and moved to Australia with her husband, a SAP project manager. Nicci has two adult sons whom she considers her pride and joy! She dedicated 15 years to the raising of her sons when she decided to re-enter the workforce. Coming from a background of real estate (her mother and sister own a real estate company) she qualified as an agent and worked in a real estate firm in Sassafras, Melbourne. She was doing extremely well as an agent but an opportunity came up in a different career direction. When one of her friends (CXO) offered her a job as a personal assistant Nicci jumped at the opportunity. Nicci found that job as one of the pivotal moments of her life as it gave her vital exposure to organizational skills that helped her to inculcate valuable lessons of entrepreneurship. While working with C-level executives, she honed her management skills. Her diligence and meticulous attention to detail, was later recognized by the management and was rewarded by being promoted to Junior Project Manager for the project management office.
After gaining valuable insights into the business world, Nicci finally decided to do something that “gives back”, something valuable to the society. She, along with her technocrat husband, who is an Agile business transformation expert, co-founded Tabar, an agile transformational company focusing on agile management, consultancy and training. Tabar was pivotal in creating and accelerating the agile movement in Australia.
At Tabar, Nicci was working as a Business Manager and was the driving force behind the organizations growth. During the “Spark The Change” conference in Melbourne in 2015, one question came to mind “how can people attend conferences without physically being there!” That question led to the birth of “Exaptec”, a rising robotic company that offers cutting-edge solutions for telepresence, service and social robots. Exaptec is an acronym for Extreme Applications Technology with the mantra “Robots for Work and Play from Anywhere”.
About the Burgeoning Robotics’ Firm
Exaptec is a fast growing service robotics company, which has offices in Melbourne, New Zealand and Hong Kong. It specializes in end to end system integration and provides customized solutions to its clients to solve their particular challenges. Whether it is about a much needed software or required hardware, Exaptec provides a full range of solutions to its clients. It is an agile company that works in short sharp iterations for their clients. The organization is known for identifying and solving issues quickly. Exaptec offers strategic consultancy to companies, advising them about telepresence and service robot solutions of robotic process automation.
Nicci’s dream and plan of action is to grow the company to be listed on the ASX within 3-5 years’ time.
Nicci’s Role Model and her Advice to Budding Entrepreneurs
Nicci considers her mother as the main source of inspiration and who has played a significant role in shaping her life. After raising 5 children on her own, she founded business after business, successfully turning every business into a success story.
Nicci’s advice to blooming entrepreneurs is, “Be prepared to put in extra hours, have faith in tough times, be organized and live and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Have a mentor or trusted advisor. Challenges will come and go but stay steady and focused.
Source :- The 30 Most Daring CEOs in Business
