Lex van Wyk

Izimvo has the great pleasure of introducing co-founder and MD of Teraco, Lex van Wyk.

Teraco, the first provider of vendor neutral data centres in South Africa, recently made headlines for going live with the first phase of its R60m data centre in Johannesburg. The 1000 sq m facility is billed as a “central node” to a new national telecommunications network. Teraco also operates a data centre in Newlands, Cape Town.

Website: http://www.teraco.co.za
Location: Johannesburg

Lex was kind enough to answer the following questions:

Personal

Q: The all important personal profile. How would a close friend introduce you at a social event?i.e. Name, age, company, interesting fact etc.

A: Lex van Wyk, 41, Teraco Data Environments, Married with 2 kids.

Q: Tell us something that not many others know about you. This could be anything from a phobia to your favorite movie.

A: Wanted to study to become a teacher, at the time my parents couldn’t afford it.

Q: What do you enjoy doing when you want to get away from it all?

A: Spend time in the bush with friends and family.

Q: How would you describe your dream home and where in South African would you like it to be?

A: Comfortable with lots of rooms and space to have many friends around, pool and great view. Ballito seems to be a good place ;-)

This questions was proudly sponsored by Private Property

Teraco

Q: Can you tell us a little about Teraco and the services it provides?

A: Teraco is the first Vendor/Carrier Neutral Data centre provider in SA. We build large very resilient data centres and manage the environment, i.e. Physical access, power and cooling. The differentiator is that our clients have direct relationships with any Telco carrier and/or managed service provider.

Q: What was the impetus for starting the business?

A: Passion for what you do. It takes a huge amount of time to get a business to a point where it operates smoothly, if you go to bed thinking I should do something else rather than about how you can improve things the next day, the business will fail. You are allowed bad days though……

Q: Congratulations on the opening of your 2nd neutral vendor data centre in Isando, Johannesburg. What challenges have you faced in getting the data centre up and running, and what lessons have you learnt for future centres?

A: Thank you, I always want to say “the single biggest challenge outside raising capital in this type of business is to secure sufficient power”. To be honest it is funds, power, Telco infrastructure and a big enough property to allow space for all the infrastructure needed to provide resilience and growth. Then as always a good team to implement this. I am very fortunate to have a great team of people around me.

Q: What advice would you give young Internet entrepreneurs starting out with little or no money?

A: Surround yourself with good people and Cash is king.

Q: Can you give us a little insight as to what it is like behind the scenes at Teraco?

A: Pressure, Very fast moving, pressure and good spirits (sometimes the liquid form when celebration calls for it). Have I mentioned pressure?

Q: How do you hire great talent?

A: Many years ago when I started my career at Valuecom, one of the founders, Lawrence Kreeve, told me “always hire people better than you in every position”. Simply this means,  identify your weaknesses and hire people to fill the gaps.

Life in South Africa

Q: Have you or any of your immediate family been affected by crime? If yes, has it changed your perception of the country and the way you and your family live your lives?

A: Yes, we were in a shop when it got held up by armed men

Q: Have you ever considered emigration? If yes, where do you think you would emigrate to?

A: The topic came up a few times, Switzerland is a big favourite with the family

Q: Given the opportunity, which governmental department would you select to lead?

A: Education, many issues in SA can be fixed if this gets done properly.

Q: To which three attractions would you first take an international visitor?

A: I think for international visitors Cape Town offers it all.

Life in Johannesburg

Q: Best spot for a romantic night out?

A: My favourite restaurant, Villa Bianca.

Q: Favourite venue for team building?

A: Pilanesberg.

Q: What are some of your favourite spots in or around Johannesburg for day trips with your family?

A: Our kids are still small and busy, we are restricted to the quiet Sunday morning movies and friends.

General

Q: Which South African blog do you read on a daily basis and why?

A: I am from the generation before blogs, occasionally visit MarcForrest.com and when in storm I used to read hittingthewire.co.za

Q: If you were able to pick anyone as your mentor, who would it be and why?

A: This is where I am suppose to say Nelson…. No, although I think he achieved amazing things, I am more a follower of business people that achieved success with growing businesses and afforded people opportunities to develop themselves. There are a few people like this and my advice on this point is, “appreciate time you get to spend with as many of these people as possible”

Q: Favorite South African brand?

A: Have to say Teraco….

Q: Who would you most like to read about on Izimvo?

A: John Smit and Graham Smith

We’d like to thank you to Lex for taking the time to answer our questions and wish him and the team at Teraco every success for the future.