)
"It was about dealing with those dark times and the prospect of being a quadriplegic, applying principles, building resilience into your life, and then transferring that into business. That's what I did," says Tom Caska, co-founder of Aerologix.
As a successful entrepreneur whose 'Uber for drones' company Aerologix now connects more than 10,000 pilots with drone work in Australia including maintenance operations for major telcos, and has the financial backing for an imminent push into Asia, it's difficult for outsiders to comprehend just how uncertain - or doubtful - this flight path was for Caska.
His dream was always to be a pilot and that ambition came to fruition in 2010 with Qantas (ASX: QAN), but five years later his career plans and sense of identity were dashed.
"In 2015 I had a massive kite surfing accident that broke my neck. I snapped the C7 vertebrae and was airlifted to Cairns hospital before being flown down to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney in a Learjet with doctors telling me there was a high risk that I may never walk again," he tells Business News Australia.
"With that I lost my pilot's licence and my world changed overnight.
"For me there was a loss of sense of self and a sense of purpose. Being in aviation, that was all I knew. That's what I loved, and then I couldn’t do that anymore."
What happened next is truly inspirational, and will be told in great depth by the man himself at the E2E Summit next month.
At the intimate event, to be held on, 16-17 February at the ivy in Sydney, the entrepreneur will share his experience of physical and mental recuperation from the lowest moments, how to build resilience, and re-invent yourself.
Finding the next best thing in the world of aviation - drones - and combining that with his love of photography, Caska 'leaned into the fall' and found himself travelling the world, working on anti-poaching projects in South Africa, and returning home to play a key role in setting up shark surveillance programs in NSW that are helping to keep swimmers safe.
He will also explain how he took his first steps into the world of his first business, how he met his fellow co-founder of Aerologix, building the software and network, the "right place, right time" factors that have played in his favour, and where to from here.
The following is a short summary of what Caska will be covering at the E2E Summit:
- What it takes to pick yourself up from debilitating events;
- How to achieve network scalability with a digitally disrupting business model;
- The importance of blue-sky thinking for global expansion, and the case for testing in Australia first.
So what are you waiting for? Click here to join us at this two-day summit where Caska will be one of many amazing founders giving their insights to help rocket your business forward in 2023 and beyond.
Get our daily business news
Sign up to our free email news updates.
)
)
)
)
)
