Rocio, an award-winning female founder, is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nova, and also holds the position of Director of Products at a tech company. Her notable work has brought about a significant change in the way teams collaborate. Rocio has designed a platform that enables teams to collaborate effectively, stay engaged, keep track of their work, and automate some administrative tasks, all with the goal of saving time.
Take a look at Rocio's session "What does your team need to thrive?"
⚡️ Save the date: Women in Tech Global Conference 2023 will take place on May 9-12!
Are you excited to speak at the Women in Tech Global Conference and what motivated you to join our community of 100 000 women in tech, minorities, and allies?
I am thrilled to join as a speaker for the Women in Tech Global Conference. It's important for me to be there, not only as a woman in the tech industry, but also as a CEO who has worked hard to reach this point. Being part of this conference with other extraordinary women is a way to inspire future generations of women. Ultimately, our efforts today will shape the future for generations to come.
Share with us about your background, your journey in tech, and what inspired you to develop your career in this direction.
I come from humble beginnings. My dad died when I was very young, so my mom had to work two jobs to support us. As a result, I learned to be independent, resourceful, and creative from a young age. We didn't have many resources, so I was always coming up with solutions to problems. By the time I was sixteen, I was working two jobs while attending school because studying was important to me. I didn't have much support, and I had to work weekends and a full-time job after university to get where I am today. It was my perseverance and strong will, along with my mother's example of working tirelessly without giving up, that helped me succeed. I never gave up because I truly enjoyed learning.
My journey in tech was not a straight line. I started as a designer and was extremely passionate about it, but then I decided to continue studying and earned a degree in marketing, specifically in strategy and human behavior. I worked in marketing for a while but realized I enjoyed the product side more than communication. By the time I was 28, I had already started two businesses, one of which I still own called Nova. These businesses came from my need to solve problems, but Nova was born out of my obsession with productivity and collaboration.
For most of my life, I had two full-time jobs while attending school full-time. Witnessing the way organizations and teams wasted time and resources was unacceptable to me. I needed to do something to help organizations collaborate effectively without wasting time managing collaboration. That's when Nova was born, and I discovered that building a technology product was my 'happy place' and my Ikigai. It has been one of the most fulfilling journeys of my life, despite the sacrifices and difficult moments. I had to learn quickly and use all my knowledge to bring this product to life. Today, I not only lead the direction of Nova but also support other companies during their product journeys. I believe this is the beginning of this journey, I got a lot of lives to live and a lot of things I want to do within tech and I know that in this journey I will have the pleasure to meet a lot of 'vitamin' women that will inspire me.
Why is the topic “What does your team need to thrive?” important to you?
I have decided to speak about what organizations and teams can do to help their teams thrive because I believe that businesses are built by people. Furthermore, I think people are one of your unique advantages over your competitors, as each person is unique and unrepeatable. This is why it is essential to create the right atmosphere, provide the right guidance, and give people the resources they need to succeed. Although this may seem obvious, it is not always easy to achieve. Through my experience of chatting with hundreds of organizations, I have observed that this is a key struggle for many.
When organizations contact us to use Nova and want to develop a custom process for their organization, one of the first things we do is to evaluate how dysfunctional their teams are and develop a plan that will help their teams thrive. During the conference, I will provide some simple tips to help teams solve some of the most common issues. My goal is to give organizations and managers time to think about these tips and explore better ways to support their teams. At work, we are often so busy that it's challenging to find the time to reflect on how to support our team effectively.
If I can encourage 200 managers to pause and think about this for an hour and try some of these techniques, we may help a few businesses grow and leverage their collective intelligence in a way they have never done before.
Who would you advise to attend the Women in Tech Global Conference and why?
This conference is a wonderful way to access interesting and curated talks, including some hot topics. Anyone who is interested in learning and exploring these topics should join. Additionally, it would be great if teenagers had access to conferences like this, where they can see women leading in the industry, supporting each other, and looking at each other with admiration.
