He is the Founder and Director of a concrete company; Managing Partner at a venture capital firm, CEO of a family office that he runs with his brother; and is on the board of a food-waste technology company. He is also an avid sailor—in October 2022, he completed his four-year term as the President of Singapore SB20 Association, but remains active in the organisation. The SB20 is the largest fleet of onedesign class of racing sailboats in Singapore.
All of the above are part of a typical day for Nicholas Cocks (Nick). “I like to pack my diary out,” he laughs. The day of the interview is no different. It’s past 4.30pm as we sit down for a chat, but he looks like his day has just started.
Nick is the quintessential multi-hyphenate, and he clearly revels in every moment of it.
SERENDIPITY AT WORK
Nick was born in Adelaide, Australia, where his father owned a concrete business. A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Nick, however, saw himself more in a corporate setup.
It was when he was backpacking around Indonesia—and evaluating his future—that his opportunity radar fired up. He realised that there was a gap in the market of ready mixed concrete. “It was like a blue ocean. There was just one other company doing what we did, so a huge market was available,” explains Nick.
His dad had retired at that stage, but sent Nick some money to start Readymix—and kickstarted his entrepreneurial journey. Nick relocated to Southeast Asia in 1990—first Indonesia, then Vietnam. Singapore, which caught his fancy as he shuttled between the two countries on work, has been his home since 1995.
Although Nick followed in his father’s footsteps, the corporate in him dictated the way the company would be run. “My father had the entrepreneurial spark, and he was a great relationship builder. That element of his business practice is something that I have tried to emulate,” he says. “But he was more of a free-wheeling entrepreneur. The company we have now is more structured.”
Readymix was followed by his family office, ReadyVentures—which invested in early-stage startups—and Velocity Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on tech innovations in the hospitality industry. The co-founding of the latter coincided with the onset of the pandemic. Although their sector of focus took the worst hit, Nick was quick to recognise that such disruptions would bring a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, more innovations, as well as a sea change to the industry. So his partner and he decided to invest in undervalued assets “to support founders who needed help during that very difficult period”. It was a masterplan to tap on to a survival instinct that is innate.
USHERING A LIFESTYLE
A keen eye for opportunity seems to underscore everything Nick does.
His tenure as the President of Singapore SB20 Association (SSBA) saw the nation inching closer to its goal to become a yachting destination—a potential that Nick foresaw right from when he started sailing its waters in his SB20 sailboat.
Nick raced as the SSBA President in the last four SB20 Asia Pacific Championships held at ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove. In 2021, SSBA, along with the Club and Singapore Sailing Federation, won the bid to host the SB20 World Championships. However, COVID-19 put a dampener on the event—it is now slated for 2025—but Singapore had secured its place on the global sailing map as the first in Asia to host the world championships.
“My biggest passion is to get more youth sailors involved, but we realised that most national level sailors do not pursue the sport beyond school,” says Nick. “What we want is for sailing to become a lifelong passion because it’s a sport that has that capacity. We figured that the SB20 was a great class to allow that progression to continue.”
So SSBA under Nick’s leadership approached educational institutions such as National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic and Singapore Management University and convinced them to buy boats.
Nick is hopeful that the increased interest in their classes will urge students to continue sailing even when they finish their studies.
Nick’s wife Stephanie Besse, General Manager at Skyline Luge Sentosa, is an avid sailor as well. “But she’s not into racing,” he is quick to add. “It gets a bit stressful—a bit like a husband and wife navigating in a car. It’s fertile ground for spousal disputes,” he laughs. But the couple enjoy going out to sea on their boat when in Sydney.
THE FAMILY MAN
Despite packing his day with activities, family time is important to Nick. He carries fond memories of his own childhood with his father. “We were more mates than father and son, we did a lot of stuff together,” he recalls. Nick unfortunately lost him to a car accident in 1997, but honours his memory by making sure to slate time to bond with his own children—he has two daughters and a son.
That includes an endearing tradition he has developed with his kids: He plans a solo trip with each of them when they finish school. “My oldest daughter and I climbed Mont Blanc in France. My son is into mountain biking, but unfortunately his trip got deferred due to COVID-19 and National Service, but we went mountain biking in Chiang Mai,” he describes. With his other daughter, his youngest, who is just finishing school, he is planning a trip through Northern Italy.
“I have been fortunate to have accumulated many unforgettable memories in my life,” says Nick. Going by his energy and verve, there will surely be more.
