| Company: |
BIG COMMUNICATIONS PTE LTD |
| Address: |
315 Outram Road, #04-09 Tan Boon Liat Building |
| Website: |
http://www.bigcom.com.sg |
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| Interview with Mr Vincent Lim |
| by Lam Anh Tho, Jessica on 10-May-2007. Student can be reached at jessica842003@gmail.com |
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| Business Profile: |
| BIG Communications Pte Ltd is a Digital Media Entertainment Company that aims to entertain, educate and engage a global audience through innovative, interactive and integrated digital media content, services and solutions. |
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| Interviewer's Comments: |
| His eyes sparkled when sharing with me about his corporation as well as his failures and successes. I feel the passionate and "not-afraid-to-fail" spirit in him. What I admire is the values that he has recognized along his business journey: each true entrepreneur has to contribute values as "sweet-fruits" to life. |
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| 1. What is the nature of your business? |
| We are involved in almost every part of the value chain in the media business - from creating our own original, unique and high quality media content with global appeal, to aggregating other people's content, to seeking or developing new platforms to showcase content, including user-generated content and interactive content. |
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| 2. What made you embark on this venture choice? |
| I started working in the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (now MediaCorp) in 1994 as a TV Producer-Director straight after graduation. Though I did not have any prior training or experience in TV productions, I convinced the interviewer that I had the passion and creativity to deal with the job at the TV station. Somehow he was impressed and gave me the job - making me the first in my class to have a job offer. I learnt from scratch almost everything about producing TV programs. It was really fun and I enjoyed the work. However, the intensive 24/7 working hours over 4 years finally took its toll. I left the media industry and joined the Singapore Tourism Board to have more decent working hours. Unexpectedly, once again, I was trapped in long working hours and staying back in the office clearing tons of paper work. I was not afraid of working long hours or working hard. I just needed to know what I was working hard for. I got my answer when I attended this course: "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". There was this quote during one of the lessons which was the tipping point: "20 years down the road, you will only regret about what you did not do, but not about what you have done". I thought hard ... over and over ... to find out what I truly wanted to do or what I loved to do. I chose to continue producing TV shows because that was what I was good at, but this time, it will be doing it on my own. There was the initial fear of the unknown - as I was not a businessman by training or profession, and I did not know how to start or run a business. I weighed the pros and cons - what do I have to lose if I did it or don't do it? With all these answered, and armed with big ideas, enthusiasm and passion, I started up BIG Communications Pte Ltd in 1999. |
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| 3. How does your business work? |
| The main part of our business is CONTENT CREATION - for Animation series, Broadcast programs, and Corporate and Government media projects. For Animation, we have two international productions right now - "Master Raindrop" and "Zigby", and in development "The UnSuperHeroes" and "The Chronicles of Oujo". For Broadcast programs, we specialize in these genres - drama, documentary, current affairs, info-edutainment, children, and variety. We have an international HD Documentary "FestivAsia" currently in production. For Corporate and Government media projects - we have produced over a hundred corporate videos, TV interstitials and TVCs for various sectors like medical & healthcare, education, defense & security, law enforcement, media & advertising, IT, hospitality & retail, and engineering & manufacturing. Now, we have gone into creating interactive content for other platforms like Mobile and the Internet. The next part of our business is CONTENT AGGREGATION - this is where we develop innovative ways to give new lease of life to old media content or allow new content (including user-generated content) to be viewed more conveniently and accessibly. Our new business is in the IDM (Interactive Digital Media) space. |
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| 4. Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started? |
| I started with about SGD 20,000 - 30,000 from my personal savings. |
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| 5. What was it like when you first started? |
| It was a humbling experience, because when I first started the company, nobody would give me a chance. I was a nobody. How great you were in the past meant nothing - people just look at where you are now. I did not even have a proper name card. I had to type out my name and contact details on small pieces of vanguard and tried to secure my first customers without any show reel. From a big-time TV producer with unlimited resources, I became a poor freelancer hungry for just one small corporate video project. "Eat worms, stay alive and move on", as one of my good friends told me. So, I "ate worms" - I did not pick and choose my projects or customers. I even accepted job orders to replicate video cassette tapes. I had to stay alive and move on. |
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| 6. What did you learn the most in those first entrepreneurial experiences? |
| You must bring yourself down, and sacrifice your ego - you got to do everything and anything you can for your business. After many rejections, I finally managed to get the first video project for my company at SGD 6,000. It was just a school video production. I was so delighted at that time, though the project took 1 year to complete. An entrepreneur is like a boxer - it is not how many knocks you can take or how much pain you can bear - more importantly, after all these, can you still go on with it? |
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| 7. What was your experience in getting those first customers? |
| I kept calling them. To win them as my customers, I have to keep talking to them and convincing them. As a newcomer into the market, I had to tell them frankly that I have just started the company, and I am looking to them for that one important chance to show them what I can offer. I also knew that clients would not mind trying something new if it is at no cost to them. So, I gave them free proposals with only one condition - give me the job only if you like the proposal, if not, there is no charge. When you are starting on a clean slate, you will need to try your very best to secure every job. Each new job builds your company's track record and enhances your show reel. |
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| 8. What motivated you to get over these difficult days? |
| Positive Factors or my P's and F's. The P's: Prayer, Passion and Perseverance, and the F's: Focus, Faith, Family & Friends. I cannot claim all the credit for what I have achieved. Many people have also made sacrifices along the journey with me - my wife and family, my business partner and company directors, some of my ex-staff - each of them have contributed in their own ways to help bring the company this far. And I do get miracles and blessings from above now and then. All these put together have helped me live through some of the most difficult times of my life. |
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| 9. Through difficulties, what made you think you were cut out for entrepreneurship? |
| As an entrepreneur, I have to be mentally prepared to fail. Of course, when I say prepared to fail - it also means that you have to take the necessary measures to avoid a painful fall. So, if you are already prepared to fail - which is the worst-case scenario - then you are not afraid to handle any challenge or difficulty that comes your way. But, more importantly, you must be prepared to start again, again...and again. |
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| 10. What are the other difficulties that you have confronted? |
| Trying to start a small business from scratch was very challenging - I had no track record, no clientele and there were already quite a number of established competitors in the market. How do I compete as a new service provider when I had not figured our my USPs, my competitive advantage and even my pricing? But with every rejection, I learnt new things - how to write better proposals, how to pitch better, how to price favorably, etc. Then again, landing a job also has its own set of problems. The major challenge is cash flow - a video production often takes months to complete, and clients usually take their time to pay even after we have delivered the finished products. So, I had to use my own money (to engage freelancers, hire equipment, pay overheads,etc.) to complete the project. Sacrificing my monthly pay became part of running the business. Thankfully, I have the support of my wife, parents and good friends. |
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| 11. Who are your sources of inspiration when you feel down? |
| One person I truly admire is our Minister Mentor, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Building a city and a nation from scratch is truly remarkable. If he had failed, where would he go? There is not another vacant of island our there somewhere he could start again - whereas if I failed in one business, I could try another one. I also read stories about how some physically challenged people triumph against human spirit. To survive, you need to go through difficulties, you need to remove your negative thoughts, and you do not give up. As long as you keep your ideas alive in your heart and mind, you can do it. Another day will be a better day. |
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| 12. What do you usually think of when you feel down? |
| I think of my wife and family and all the good friends who have helped me - how can I let them down? It is a constant mental battle and I do feel like giving up many times, especially when I see my other friends working in big corporations and getting high pays. But then, I also think about my dream and all the things that the company has done and will be doing, and I tell myself to move on, not for myself but for others who believe in me. I also rely on my faith and spiritual strength. I read a lot of inspirational books too. Many successful people have confronted similar problems as me. The ability to handle difficulties and challenges is the measure of one's courage and passion, and a test of one's endurance. |
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| 13. How is BIG Communications now? |
| We hardly take on low-cost video productions now - unless they are special requests from some of our corporate clients or from someone who really needs our help. In the past, we were only service providers doing what the clients wanted. Now, our infrastructure, resources, capabilities and competencies allow us to do what we want - to create our own shows (2D & 3D Animation, interactive content, as well as 'Live Action' HD Documentaries, Dramas and Infotainment shows) for the world. We have also established a new subsidiary company called "BIG Interactive Pte Ltd" to look into new IDM technology, specifically in the area of Digital Lifestyle Convergence, for example embedded non-invasive Advertising. On the whole, the company is looking healthy and moving in the right direction. |
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| 14. When did you start going into Animation? |
| It was not always in my plans to go into Animation or to be involved in creating global cartoon characters. My business of producing corporate videos and 'live' action TV shows started expanding in 2001. Our office was reallocated to a bigger and better place, and our staff strength increased to 25 at its peak in 2002. I actually grew proud and lofty - extremely elated with the achievement. There was a period of time I became complacent - I forgot about my passion and lost focus in what I was doing. At that same time, we were quite cash-rich, so we dabbled in New Media and Animation. Nothing resulted except for some concept ideas - one of which was "Master Raindrop". Then in 2003, SARS hit my business severely. It was a terrible time - we could not get new projects, and there was not enough money to pay all my people. We struggled to keep everything intact. Eventually, we lost all our staff and our two-storey Chinatown shophouse office. The business literally collapsed. We took up a small factory space to rebuild the business. We decided that if we wanted to continue in the media business, we might have to look at Animation and Digital Media instead of going back to video production. Despite mounting debts and tons of bills to pay, we borrowed more money to develop "Master Raindrop". It was a big risk to bet everything we had on Master Raindrop, but it was all we had - this vision that it will become a global icon. In October 2004, I brought "Master Raindrop" to MIPCOM in France - armed with only a paper concept, a simple trailer, and two little clay figurines - to try my luck in wooing the big players. As it was my first time there, I had no idea what it would be like - so I went there enthusiastically with a naive confidence that "Master Raindrop" will be a big hit at its maiden launch in an international media market. But, I was in for a rude awakening. MIPCOM was a super huge media market. There were hundreds of media companies promoting their shows. "Master Raindrop" was literally a drop in the ocean. Nobody was interested in it. I felt so small and insignificant, defeated and hopeless. I returned empty-handed and had a discussion with my fellow company director it was either we cut our losses, shut the company down and then get full time jobs to repay our debts, or we continue the painful struggle by "eating worms" again. We still believed in "Master Raindrop", so we decided to put the project on hold, and went back to doing small projects to raise the money we needed to pay our debts. In October 2005, after a year of struggling, squeezing and saving, plus whatever money we managed to beg and borrow, we bit the bullet and brought "Master Raindrop" to MIPCOM for a second time and yet again nobody wanted it. The drop of inspiration has dried up. It was just drought and desperation. Those were the darkest moments in our business, as we were quite heavily in debt, without any light at the end of the tunnel. |
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| 15. So, when was the best moment then? |
| Surprisingly, it was in Singapore itself at the Asian Media Festival in December 2005 that an international distributor said that they liked the project, and wanted to invest in it. In April 2006, with the support of the MDA, we signed the deal together with two established co-production partners. |
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| 16. What are BIG Communications' plans for the future? |
| We have got plans for growth and development. We are setting up subsidiaries to do different things. The main aim is making BIG Communications an international brand. We are also entering into more business ventures with established international partners to help build up Singapore's media industry. Moving forward when we have reached a certain level of profitability, we hope to help out in a lot of non-commercial areas. The company may also explore helping other visionary entrepreneurs in setting up their businesses. |
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| 17. At the end of the day, what is the biggest lesson that you have got from entrepreneurship? |
| If you show people you believe in something, sooner or later people will believe in it too. Nothing happens if you do nothing. |
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| 18. How do you define "success" in your business? |
| "Success" is to bring value to the area of work that you specialize in or to the industry your business is in. If it only benefits you, then you are only successful as a person, but not as an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is supposed to add value that benefits other people. When I was younger, I dreamt of setting up a big company with a lot of people and a lot of profit. Now, success is only a word. It is not about how famous I am or how big the company is. "Success" is doing things that make others who work for the company feel proud of, letting others know that we are doing good works, and bringing value to the industry. That is important. That is success. |
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| 19. As an entrepreneur, what do you think about "failure"? |
| As an entrepreneur, you must face the bitterness of failure. And as always, you have the power to decide what you should do. It is not true that if you fail, you are useless. Nobody is useless. Failure is a part of success. Failures toughen us up for more difficult times ahead. There are always new lessons to learn. What you need to do is to have a good cry and relieve yourself of the negative energy, then back off, analyze things and work out a way to start over again. Being an entrepreneur does not mean that you become a Superman with superpowers. You are still human, and you still make mistakes. You do not know everything. You do fail. But, you can decide when to come back again. Just do not lose focus! |
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| 20. Do you think an entrepreneur was born or made to be? |
| People are not born to be entrepreneurs. But, I believe many entrepreneurs are born out of circumstances. Somewhere down the road, something happens in their lives - either they want new challenges, or they had no other choices because they were retrenched, or they may even think they could do something worthwhile with their ideas - then, they decide to be entrepreneurs. |
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| 21. What would you like to advise the youth who want to become entrepreneurs? |
| There is no bible to teach you how to become an entrepreneur. Things change, so do people, technology, the environment and the business world. What does not change is your heart and mind - the human endurance and the human spirit in you - that keep your dream, faith and beliefs alive even though the world changes. But, you have to be practical even when you dream big. You have to face reality, and not do anything totally ridiculous. If you meet with failure, you have to sit down and analyze where you are, track what ideas you are having, and determine what you want to do in that situation. Should you give up or continue? A lot of people think that giving up is wrong. But to me, it is not true, it is not wrong to give up. |
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| 22. Why do you say "giving up is not wrong"? |
| There are two ways to define 'giving up'. The first is you give up and do something else which you could excel in. The other is to give up, but keep things in view and come back again. Sometimes, things just happen as it is not the right time for you to get into business. Then, we need to be practical, realize the situation that we are in and find a chance to start again. At those points of time, do not think that you are useless just because you failed. You can take a good break, do other things, reassess yourself and think how to get back. People always need time to understand what went wrong, and have a choice to come back if it is better. It is a continuous journey as long as your heart and mind do not give up. All entrepreneurs should fail in one way or another to be able to taste success. If you have never failed, you will not know the real meaning of success. If you do not feel pain or sorrow, you will not be able to appreciate joy. |
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| 23. Do you need a good education to be an entrepreneur? |
| A good education is helpful in some ways. While you can read books to get ideas or learn about how other people became successful - all these only provide you with theories and some know-how, but the business world is always changing. An entrepreneur must also learn how to adapt to these changes and to be prepared for any new challenges. These things, unfortunately, can not be taught. An entrepreneur learns many things while on the job - by trying and doing things, experiencing the ups and downs and going through it all with focus and faith. |
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| 24. So, is that the real entrepreneur in your perception? |
| "Greater power comes with greater responsibility" quoting from the movie 'Spiderman'. A true entrepreneur needs to help others, and he needs to share his wealth and success. If he only keeps the money for himself, then he is not promoting anything. |
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| 25. Have you ever thought of retirement? |
| I used to joke with my friends that I would like to retire by the time I am 40 years old. But I think I would be very bored if I really do retire at 40. For me, retirement does not mean you stop doing things. It just means you start doing other things. I have spent a considerable amount of my life trying to make money. But, if we wake up every day only to find ways to make more money, life will be very tiring and meaningless. If what the company is looking for is only money, I guess the journey would never end. We can never earn all the money in the world. So, I hope by the time I reach 40 or after 40 - when I wake up in the mornings - all I think about is what other good things I should do in life. The company has reached a level where we would be profitable and successful if we keep doing the right things that we are doing now. The next stage is exploring how we can help to bring up the standard of living for people who have never been given the chance to enjoy life. |
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| 26. At the end of the day, what do you value the most as an entrepreneur? |
| True human values - like the human spirit, perseverance, courage, integrity, compassion, humility, generosity, etc. When we die, we cannot bring along our money, skills, titles, etc. It is more meaningful if people remember us as people with strong determination, and admire us for the values that we stand for and leave behind. If you want to give something, give your best. If you choose to do something, do your best. We need to remember that when we decide to do something, it is not guaranteed that we will succeed. But, every step is important, whether it is forward or backward. There are always lessons to be learnt, and values to inculcate. |
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| 27. Could you share with us how you decided to take part in our Spirit of Enterprise? |
| I decided to take part because I hope this will help spur more entrepreneurs. Each successful entrepreneur can help others by introducing more jobs, sharing their wealth and creating new values for society and for life. I would like to be a part of this, as well as to share my ideas and experiences to future potential entrepreneurs. |
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| 28. Are there any other things you want to share with us before we end this conversation? |
| An Entrepreneur's story does not end. If you come back tomorrow, I would tell you other stories. There are always new ideas, new things coming up. BIG Communications' motto is: "ImagiNation. Beyond Boundaries". If you can imagine it - it can happen - but you must imagine with determination. |
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