Sushmita Saha tells the inspiring story of Ovick Alam who has been recently awarded as one of Asia’s most influential digital marketing professionals
Fortune favours the brave. There are many untold stories of intense hard work, bold decisions, failed attempts, unyielding determination and relentless endeavors behind the process of making a dream come true. For Ovick Alam, the reward has been rightfully served.
Ovick Alam, founder of BridgeWee and co-founder of digital creative agency, Webable, has been recently awarded as one of Asia’s Most Influential Digital Marketing Professionals. ‘Being recognised as a Bangladeshi digital media professional on an international platform while we are yet to be recognised by Bangladeshi Institutes is somewhat counter-intuitive; however, this recognition will foster me and my team’s performance leading to better outcomes,’ opines Ovick, who stands out to be one of the four Bangladeshis to get the accolade.
The award was given at the 24th Edition of the World Brand Congress which is an annual event to explore and celebrate the power of brand building. This is an intensely researched initiative where individuals who demonstrate extraordinary achievements in the conception, creation and execution of digital initiatives, are shortlisted by a research committee and finally reviewed by a jury comprising of senior professionals from blue chip companies across the globe.
According to Ovick, the digital marketing platform is still at a nascent stage in Bangladesh. There are lots of opportunities to exploit, however there is also dearth of digital talent. ‘At this juncture, this recognition plays a key role in building awareness among the common people about what is happening in this platform and in encouraging the young minds to be curious to learn and equip themselves with the skills in order to be rewarded down the road,’ enlightens the entrepreneur.
Ovick has a long-term connection with entrepreneurial ventures. Coming from an English medium educational background, he got admission in the marketing department of University of Dhaka (DU) in 2009 when most of his friends and juniors were in the lookout for some type of assistance to qualify the admission test of DU.
‘In 2009, I first built my company, BridgeWee, which aimed at solving a particular problem i.e. helping out the English medium background students with the admission test of DU,’ he shares with New Age Youth.
With a handful of six students in 2009, he made a start on the venture with a determination of building a business and he made it happen with over 100 students currently enrolled in BridgeWee. ‘I don’t even have to look into its operations now,’ says the proud entrepreneur.
When he was running BridgeWee, he faced serious resource limitations. To make a way out of this problem, he decided to promote the company online and hence created a Facebook page of BridgeWee. ‘In 2009-10, apparently, no company or no brand was using online channels to promote their product/service, there was no such thing called Facebook page,’ enlightens Ovick.
In 2012, Ovick met Shadab Mahbub, co-founder of Webable Digital. Aspiring to create his own identity rather than preferring someone else or a company doing it for him, Ovick stayed unemployed for seven months after completing his graduation and then together they brought Webable Digital into being. ‘In the process, I have learnt that you must wait long enough to get the right job or start something of your own at the right time,’ opines Ovick and which, according to him, is the risk that today’s youth is not willing to take.
The zealous participation of youth demonstrating their skills and talent make the digital media platform more vibrant than ever. However, the attitude of a good proportion of youth engaged in this field towards their work is not appropriate. ‘The problem is, they don’t take this job seriously and by the time they are on the verge of graduation, due to family pressure or social recognition, they are on the lookout for traditional jobs. This attitude needs to be changed, explains Ovick.
Building BridgeWee as a sustainable business and creating a well-structured team in Webable Digital- are two remarkable achievements of Ovick. Being a productivity-freak, he is strict about time and calendar which provides him the maximum output in a limited time. ‘My team is a blessing to me. Each and every member acts promptly when crises arise and do the needful,’ says a much gratified Ovick.
Besides carrying out the entrepreneurial function, Ovick loves to train people. Earlier he used to train the young students struggling with their academics and now he trains corporate people on digital know-how. ‘Education must be the first priority of a person irrespective of his/her height of success. I got overwhelmed to know that people are actually ready to pay to learn digital and surprisingly, most of them are the senior group of people,’ elucidates Ovick.
In spite of his super hectic schedule, Ovick makes sure to take time out for his hobbies which happen to be travelling, reading and teaching. Besides teaching in BridgeWee, he also taught in Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) and worked as a mentor in many startup events. ‘My aim is to build the next generation of action takers who will have better problem solving ability and a passion to learn,’ asserts Ovick.