When it comes to opening doors in business, Infinity Robotics President and Co-Founder Dave Neville is relentless. So relentless, in fact, that he once sat in the lobby of a large company he wanted to talk to for 4 hours until, after some crafty conversations with the guards, the right person finally came down to have a discussion with him. The talk ultimately led to a big account for his company.
That kind of drive and willingness to do whatever it takes, to talk to whoever he needs to, is why Infinity Robotics is growing exponentially.
“I am the epitome of what’s defined as a serial entrepreneur,” said Neville, who has started multiple companies throughout his life, including a mobile DJ operation and a gun manufacturing company.
Neville spends much of his time at Infinity making connections with customers and potential business partners. Those connections have helped IR form partnerships with some of the most cutting-edge robot manufacturers and software companies in the industry.
“He’s a door-opener,” Infinity CEO David Lacher said. “He’ll talk to anybody. From a sales perspective, those things are qualities that I haven’t seen very often.”
Neville is a man of faith and knows the opportunities coming Infinity’s way are not by accident.
“It just seems like every month something pops up to affirm that we’re in the right space and I’m the right person with the right team to do it,” he said.
Revenue has jumped significantly year over year at Infinity and Neville and his team are working through agreements with multiple companies that will keep IR profitable far into the future.
He considers the tight-knit Infinity team his family and says it’s the people who make everything work.
“It’s definitely the people we’ve brought in,” Neville said. “I’m very good at opening the doors and putting them in front of challenging projects, but they’re the ones who know how to deliver, execute, get it done. It’s the team we have and I think the family environment we’ve created. Everyone knows it’s not just about making money. We have to do that. But they know their families come first.”
Neville’s introduction to robots came as a child, when he assembled a robot arm on his own when he was 6 or 7 years old. Later, in high school, he built a Heathkit robot in his technology lab. He’s been infatuated with robots ever since.
Although he says guns are his first love, robots are second, albeit a distant one.
“After I left the gun industry, I thought, ‘What’s cooler than guns?’ Absolutely nothing. But robots were a real distant second,” Neville joked.
Although he could one day return to the gun space through helping automate the manufacturing process, Neville has found his life’s path in robotics and automation.
“This is all I want to do for the rest of my life,” Neville said. “I’ve done enough. I know what I like. I know what I want to do.”
