Establishing UiPath’s Southeast Asia Hub in Singapore:
A Personal Narrative of Growth and Innovation in Singapore
UiPath experience: Opening a regional office & building a regional team
My journey in Singapore commenced in 2016, intricately intertwined with UiPath’s remarkable global expansion narrative across the Asia Pacific region.
I have joined UiPath, the global RPA market leader in March 2016. At that time, UiPath had about 30 employees, 2 sales, 3 marketing, operations and the rest product and engineering, with a single office in Bucharest, Romania.
I always had a personal inclination towards the Asian culture and have considered to move to Asia since 2012-2013 (at that time I was working for Intel and I was interacting with colleagues from Asian countries, hardware manufacturing companies like Asus, Lenovo, Fujitsu). In 2016, our UiPath sales team was just four people, and the workload was insane. We had the freedom to choose which regions to focus on and dive right in. There was no time for anything but work; decisions and their execution had to happen at lightning speed. I instinctively chose Asia and started engaging with customers and partners across India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, and more.
Reflecting backwards, I realize that our success was driven by a passion for learning, a hunger for building a global company, and a relentless drive to innovate. It wasn’t about knowing the right way to do things, but rather about doing things differently and achieving what no other company had done before.
In 2016, Singapore’s RPA market showed tremendous potential for UiPath. Despite not having a local office, we successfully partnered with several local system integrators and secured the first three customers—prestigious Singapore Government agencies. This early success was remarkable, especially considering UiPath was a startup from Romania, a country few in Asia could even place on a map. Gaining customer confidence from such a distant and unfamiliar part of the world was a real challenge during those days.
Another extremely positive sign for the Singapore market was the steady influx of inbound leads. Enterprise companies, government agencies, reseller partners, system integrators, and large consulting firms were all eager to test UiPath and explore partnership opportunities. This high level of interest underscored the market’s vast potential and set the stage for our continued growth in the region.
Considering all the demand coming from Singapore prospects, I have attended my first large event in Singapore, in 2016 which was a NASSCOM conference. The interest from the event proved that Singapore could be a great place for UiPath to set a regional office for Southeast Asia. What really impressed me about the Singapore tech ecosystem was how vibrant and energetic it felt. The level of interest in new technology was high, even though the RPA market was still very nascent. This led me to the conclusion that it was the perfect place for UiPath to set up a regional office. Luckily, I had the full support and full trust of all UiPath leadership team, for which I am forever grateful.
In 2017, less than a year after my first visit, I have decided to take the next step, relocate to Singapore and set up the regional headquarters for UiPath.
At that point, I had no prior similar experience, I did not know any Asian language, had no one to train me on which steps to take first or what I was supposed to prioritise. All my experience in building the UiPath Southeast Asia team and subsequently the business across Asia Pacific region was based on personal trial and error practical experience, learnings from everyday interactions with colleagues, customers, partners, every person that I had the opportunity to meet with. Everything was new to me, and each day brought a new challenge. I embraced every situation as an opportunity for learning and growth. The mindset I always had, and tried to instil in my team, was, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so let’s make the best of it. We have nothing to lose, so let’s try everything we can to make it a success. And along this journey, let’s enjoy the process and learn as much as we can.”
In my two and a half years leading UiPath’s Southeast Asia region, we achieved significant milestones. We opened offices and established local teams in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, building a regional team of over 60 people. We hired and trained teams from scratch, developed a network of more than 50 channel partners, and secured 400 customers. Through these efforts, we firmly established UiPath as the region’s market leader in RPA.
Personally, for me, it was a dream come true. When I first came to Singapore in 2016 everything seemed so overwhelming, the demands from customers and partners, the competitive landscape. It seemed a crazy ambition for a small startup coming from Romania to be successful and to become the RPA market leader in such a competitive and demanding business environment. I am happy I was crazy enough to pursue my dream and the UiPath global ambitions, looking back I have no regrets, just a deep sense of gratitude for all the people who believed in UiPath and myself during those years.
The advice which I give nowadays to all the startups I consult, is to be crazy enough, to have a big, bold global vision, plan thoroughly and move fast, if possible, faster than the competition, try, fail, try again.
A limited vision although executed perfectly will lead you to limited success, a bold vision might lead you to half of your plans but can be a stepping stone towards a much higher achievement. Never be afraid of failure, as it can be your biggest friend and teacher ☺.
Continuing to live in Singapore
After a couple of years of growing the business in Southeast Asia, in 2019 I have transitioned to an APAC role, and then, in 2020 to a global position in charge of key global accounts. Though I had an opportunity in 2020 to move to the US (UiPath’s headquarters had moved to New York in 2017) I have decided to stay in Singapore. One reason was COVID, during those years most of the business was conducted remotely, so it wasn’t that much of a difference if I was in Singapore or the US, I would have still worked from home.
Besides the global situation, there were multiple considerations which I put into balance when deciding to stay in Singapore. Firstly, I always liked how multicultural and cosmopolitan the city is, the fact that English is widely spoken, which allowed me to easily communicate everywhere and with everyone. I never had the feeling that I am a stranger in a different country. From early days, I deeply felt Singapore is home and the right place for me to expand professionally and personally.
Thinking long term, I also realised that Singapore was one of the best global hubs where I could put my passion for tech startups into action. So, all cards were stacked in favour of Singapore
Expanding personal and professional networks
in Singapore
Having moved to Singapore with few connections, I have always been looking to widen my network of personal and professional contacts. Over the years, I have been part of global communities like Singapore Global Network, who brings great value especially to those who have recently moved to Singapore and need a lot of local support.
Through Singapore Global Network, I have started to get in touch and meet many stakeholders working in various areas of the tech industry, I have become involved in tech panels and events, which have allowed me to connect with more leaders in tech.
Starting my own entrepreneurial journey in Singapore
In February 2022, I have left UiPath, and became a Tech Pass holder and started a new chapter in Singapore. Drawing from my past experiences, my plan was to continue to be involved in the local tech ecosystem and nurture the next generation of tech startups and talent. Having worked with a lot of talented and passionate women – mentors, friends, colleagues – who contributed to the way I see life and conduct my work, I also looked for a community where I can support other women in the tech industry. That’s how I became part of Girls in Tech Singapore in February 2022.
In March 2022, I have started my company, Global Digital Ventures, which goal is to consult European startups looking to enter Asian markets and Singaporean startups seeking to expand globally. Depending on their requirements, I typically connect these startups with customers, partners, or VCs and angel investors to support them in their fundraising and business expansion process.
Always an unofficial ambassador for Singapore
Currently I am in touch with many European tech professionals who are curious about the tech scene and the way of life in Singapore. I consider myself an ambassador for people thinking of moving to Singapore, and I’m always happy to share from my own professional and personal experience.
Tech professionals are often interested in Singapore as a place to establish a startup, join an investment community, or oversee business expansion across APAC.
Being based in Singapore has continued to fuel my curiosity and passion for tech. I see each startup that I work with as an opportunity to learn something new and to experiment a new area of innovation and growth.
Hopefully my experience will be helpful for other start-up founders and tech enthusiasts who are considering Singapore as their tech HQ base and need a boost of confidence to take the next step forward.
If you enjoyed my story and want to connect to share your experience and story, you can reach out to me via my contact page.
