Seeing the power of user generated content online, Anthony’s venture started as a cultural adventure and has now led him to create a platform for easily creating video content for mass consumers.

What’s your story?
Escaped UK for Australia to start my first entertainment company when I was 22. Went on to launch a JV publishing company with Universal Music and TV production companies in London and Asia. My passion is culture and I spent over 15 years exploring remote countries from Africa to Melanesia recording remote voices before they are lost. Released multiple albums in over 35 countries under the name Last Voices. National Geographic TV followed my travels resulting in the TV series ‘Last Voices from Heaven’ and called it ‘the most dangerous expedition in the history of music’. My latest adventure is Binumi, a cloud based video solution providing content, tools and publishing all in one place. The aim is to empower the next generation of cultural storytellers.

What excites you most about your industry?
Cloud based technology is incredible. It’s mind boggling to think just how many video stories our platform could enable. Observing the shift from innocuous video capture to actual user-generated narrative pieces is inspiring. The power of user-generated video content I believe will have a profound influence, and hopefully create a rebound in the ‘attributable’ value for culture in entertainment and advertising.

What’s your connection to Asia?
I have been doing business in Asia for over 25 years finding opportunities in entertainment by building relationships and localising products. Today, I continue to have teams in Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Although the changes have been dramatic, in my opinion the unique cultural differences between countries in Asia is as strong as ever. In Thailand consumption of digital products is huge and a big part of the reason why we continue to focus so much on localisation. We are very committed to the region and are indebted to the commitment and passion our partners and teams bring everyday.

Chief Tofor Lakor looking through camera. Anthony Copping and Neuha village people in the background

Anthony Copping at the base of Yasur Volcano.

Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
Bangkok… It reminds me of the film Blade Runner… It has everything… Walk out of the door of our office and discover food carts, trains, motorbikes dodging cars with office girls sitting side saddle making calls, BMW’s next to Tuk Tuks, old rattling buses screeching down roads too small, a modern skytrain, every type of food in the world and of course the intense heat. It has its own unique business fabric and in most cases many will listen to new ideas. An emerging creative young workforce, and a high number of International business people who come through on holiday, so it is often surprising who you can meet. But best of all, on every street corner, Thais will be eating and always laughing and happy, providing the energy I need for the next day.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
“Anthony, never, never, never give up. When a Tiger is injured it will lick its wounds and fight again” – CP’s Soopakij Chearavanont

Who inspires you?
Michael Rockefeller’s trips to West Papua and his amazing Asmat art collections. It was surreal that I ended up working with his brother Mark in New York. Although Michael was never found after going missing in the jungle,  his commitment to the art and pageantry of these remote cultures was legendary.

What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
I love tea and I just learnt that all British tanks since 1945 were built with tea making equipment inside.

If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
Just occasionally have easier and smaller ideas!

How do you unwind?
Play football

Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
Relaxing is overrated and I get bored. Sri Lanka surprised me with its mix of significant cultural sites and lazy beaches.

Everyone in business should read this book:
Wild Swans By Jung Chang and a reminder of what an extraordinary story China has become.

Shameless plug for your business:
Binumi makes video creation for consumers easy by combining nearly 3 million royalty free multimedia clips from over 50 countries with easy to use editing tools. Users can upload and mix in their own content, add voice-overs and text making video storytelling possible for everyone. Binumi allows you to share your finished videos with any social network and offers private and public video walls for you to create your own environments. Binumi started as an educational tool to allow a safe video environment for students and teachers. In early 2016 we will be releasing mobile apps and launching into consumer areas such as tourism and messaging. Binumi is currently used by students as young as five in over 10 countries from Japan to Australia.

How can people connect with you?
Twitter, Facebook and [email protected]

Twitter handle?
@AnthonyCopping and @binumi

This interview was part of the Callum Connect’s column found on The Asian Entrepreneur:

CallumConnectsCallum Laing invests and buys small businesses in a range of industries around Asia.  He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is the founder & owner of Fitness-Buffet a company delivering employee wellness solutions in 12 countries.  He is a Director of, amongst others, Key Person of Influence.  A 40 week training program for business owners and executives.

Take the ‘Key Person of Influence’ scorecard <http://www.keypersonofinfluence.com/scorecard/>

Connect with Callum here:
twitter.com/laingcallum
linkedin.com/in/callumlaing
Get his free ‘Asia Snapshot’ report from www.callumlaing.com

Recently Published

Key Takeaway: Love is a crucial aspect of life, defining relationships, identity, and self-worth. The popular belief that self-love is necessary for romantic love is often questioned, as some philosophers argue that excessive focus on oneself can lead to narcissism. However, the absence of self-love can manifest as a fundamental lack of self-worth, leaving individuals […]

Top Picks

Key Takeaway: Airports often lead to unusual behavior, such as drunken brawls and flight diversions. The psychology of travel can influence this behavior, as the promise of vacation can shift our mindset into anticipation and liberation. The overwhelming noise, crowds, and constant hustle can overload our senses, leading to stress-induced irritability and unexpected outbursts. Airports […]
Key Takeaway: Over 8,500 shipwrecks from two devastating world wars pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems and coastal communities. These underwater time capsules contain up to 6 billion gallons of oil, munitions, toxic heavy metals, and chemical weapons. The degradation of these wrecks is accelerating due to rising ocean temperatures, increasing acidification, and more […]
Key Takeaway: Venture capital-backed startups, such as Anduril Industries, are transforming the defense sector by securing multi-million dollar contracts from the US Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defence. This surge in AI-driven defense technologies is driven by a relentless appetite for risk and innovation, with venture capital firms playing a pivotal role […]
Key Takeaway: Attosecond science, a field that earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2023, uses ultra-short laser pulses to observe and manipulate matter on timescales previously thought impossible. This breakthrough has implications across various sectors, including computing, renewable energy, medicine, and beyond. Attosecond science harnesses the energy of laser light to emit rapidly moving […]
Key Takeaway: The blue sky is a result of Rayleigh scattering, a process where shorter wavelengths of light scatter more than longer wavelengths. The atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, which interact with sunlight to create a spectrum of colors. This scattering process, which is governed by physics and chemistry, is the primary […]

Trending

I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […]

Join our Newsletter

Get our monthly recap with the latest news, articles and resources.

Login

Welcome to Empirics

We are glad you have decided to join our mission of gathering the collective knowledge of Asia!
Join Empirics