An Interview with Mr. Antony Davis, Founder, Video Home Tour
By Karan Mange, Correspondent, BMS.co.in
- Tell us something about yourself?
Having worked as a news reporter for Times Now TV and as an anchor for News9 has given me significant exposure. I have had the chance to meet the who’s who from varied walks of life. It has been a crazy turn of things as I was a business management student who got a campus placement in Deutsche bank but knew that I was made for something larger. From college days, I had been very involved in translation of ideas into reality.
- Tell us something about your business?
Video Home Tour (www.vhtnow.com) is the pioneers in online video marketing. We are a mix of a production house and a video marketing company. Since online video is probably the most effective way to communicate on the internet these days a lot of businesses are opting to make videos of their products/ services/ projects etc. So we make promotional videos and then help them get the visibility online for it. This way they get to reach a big customer base effectively.
- What is your philosophy towards work?
‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ Well the quote might date back to the days of Confucius, but I follow this philosophy very closely in my work. For me work should be fun, simply because I can look forward to it every single day in my life. I love the excitement of entrepreneurship. Every day is different but you get to choose your experiences.
- Whom do you admire as your role model? And why?
I have learnt a lot from many people in my life. Great men who have achieved a lot have always inspired me. But I will look up to one person in particular, namely John Davison Rockefeller, who is often regarded as the richest man in the history. I just love the way he revolutionized the petroleum industry, the aggressiveness with which he ran his company until he retired. He was disciplined and had a character like steel.
- “Management is core to every individual, organization & society.” Give your views on it.
I believe that effective management is a core to every individual, organization and society and more so when it comes to entrepreneurship. With time management and using your organization’s human assets to the greatest advantages one can go places. Most importantly by properly mapping your network you can make great strides.
- Name 3 qualities of prime importance that an entrepreneur should possess.
Simple qualities…
Firstly, he should be a great salesman.
You will most likely be the chief sales officer of your company for a long time as you will have to be good at selling your vision to your employees, selling your products to customers, Selling parts of your company to potential investors, selling the idea to friends and family that it will be worth quitting a high paying job etc.
Secondly, he should be a leader who can inspire and motivate his team
You can never do everything by yourself. You will need a team. You can force them to work for you because you are paying them or you could inspire them to do great work. The second one is tough but it pays richer dividends.
Thirdly, he should be passionate about his business
Passion is the most important trait of the successful entrepreneur. They genuinely love their work. They are willing to put in those extra hours to make the business succeed because there is a joy their business gives which goes beyond the money. The successful entrepreneur will always be reading and researching ways to make the business better.
- According to you, what are the challenges for Entrepreneurship today?
Challenges are bound to be there but that is the fun part. This is probably the best time ever in the history to become an entrepreneur. Though the media would have you believe otherwise, business loans are not impossible to come by. Business bootstrapping, the idea that you can start a business with your own sources of funding as opposed to a bank’s money is becoming more and more prevalent these days. Some business can even be started with little or no startup capital. Great people are offering to mentor startups. So the barrier to start a business is not as large as you may think. Your first years of starting a business will be hard, but they will be hard whether the economy is good or bad.
- Can Entrepreneurship be taught in B-Schools/Management Institutes/Colleges?
That is an interesting question because my answer is yes and no.
No, because I learnt more about business in the 3 months of running my own business than 3 years of business management in college.
But I would say yes it helps because it gives powerful insights about things that you experienced while you are an entrepreneur.
- Do you think today’s economy is conducive for a new venture to start upon?
Like I mentioned earlier, this is probably the best time ever in the history to become an entrepreneur. There is no such thing as good time or bad time. Even if you started at a time that is a lean period for the economy and you get your business through that phase then you have passed the worst and you would have become incredibly resilient. Yes, today’s economy gives everybody a chance to cash in. But at the end of the day, it’s always the survival of the fittest.
- Is the Name of the Institute from where a student pursues his/her Graduation/Post Graduation important while setting up a business?
Not really. How many of you know from where your role models have graduated? Well, some might have not even completed their graduation. So basically you must have admired them for their ideas and the way they have implemented it to make it a huge success on this planet. Diamonds can only be polished to get the shine, but the core value of it, even when it is uncut is high. Simple logic suggests great ideas, great thinkers and great management skills can surely make a great entrepreneur even if he has not graduated from the world’s best B-schools.
- What qualities you see for apart from the required academic qualification while recruiting person?
I look for passionate people with a great attitude, a drive to learn and thirst and hunger to excel. Everything else usually falls in place.
- “Earning more & more is the motive behind any business.” Is it justifiable?
There is nothing wrong in earning more as long as you are providing value to the end user, the investor and the society at large.
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