Vikram Ramchandani is the  Managing Director at Dynamite Design company. . Below is an interview of him about Education, Economy , social and digital media in Afghanistan, Central and South Asia.

 FA: Please tell us about yourself and your background?

 VR: I started my career as a banker in Toronto in the early 2000's, the frost of Toronto eventually drove me to leave Canada for warmer pastures in 2003. In search of start-up opportunities I travelled to New York, Dubai (the city I was born in), and Barcelona before settling down in Bombay.  In India, start-up luck eluded me and I got back into finance, where I started a M+A vertical for India's largest share registrars, built the International Equities desk for a structured finance institution, and sat on the board of India's first pre-ipo fund and a billion dollar privately held mining conglomerate. In 2011, I once again ventured out of finance into entrepreneurship.  This time to start a broadcast design firm called 'Dynamite' with an industry veteran and friend 'Sheetal Sudhir' and founded 'payalkhandwala' a clothing label with my wife. 

FA:  Can you tell us about (Dynamite Design) and the philosophy behind the company?

VR: Dynamite is a full-service broadcast design and branding agency based out of Bombay.  We help media companies brand their channels, shows, and related properties. Dynamite is made up of a team of 6 award-winning designers, 4 acclaimed directors, 1 enthusiastic animator, 1 talented barista, and 1 banker.  We provide clients brand and design solutions for on-air (motion graphics), off-air (print), graphic design, animation, and live-action production.

The idea behind starting Dynamite was to allow Indian companies to have a qualified and viable local option for branding and broadcast design.  We were appalled that Indian media firms were forced to look at International brand and design agencies because of the lack of quality local options.  To bridge this divide Sheetal (ex-Network Brand Creative Director - STAR India - Newscorp) and I setup Dynamite. Today Indian media firms, no matter how large or small, finally have the option of using an award-winning team of designers and filmmakers to brand themselves within their own country.

Additional info if required: Since inception, we have managed to re-brand India's no.1 Hindi Movie Channel 'Star Gold', Aamir Khan (of of India's preeminent actors) first show on television 'Satyamev Jayate',  West Bengal's largest movie channel 'Jalsa Movies', India's First Immersive Immersive Entertainment Centre 'Smaaash' and Gold Action, Movies OK, and Fox Action's Off-air amongst others.  

FA: What do you look for in the projects and partners you work with?

VR: We ideally look for partners who are clear about the objectives of their project. Those who know what they want but may not know how to achieve it.  We also look at projects that makes us happy and/or proud. This however does not mean that we will turn down a project if it is lucrative in other ways.

The partners we select to work with us on projects have a bottomless pit of enthusiasm and enough experience within their domain, this is besides the fact that they also hyper talented and do intelligent work.
 
FA: What is social media's role in your business? How much do you use it and how?

VR: To be quite honest we have not yet exploited social media as much as we would have liked to.  This is something that we hope to change in the coming months.  


FA: Can digital media influence a cultural revolution? If yes, how so?

VR: I believe it already has.  People all around us are starting to procure and consume goods based on individual requisites as opposed to general local preferences.  You see a lot more handmade, individually selected items being available across stores, masses, and classes.  This is different from the brick and mortar surroundings that we were used to just 10 years ago.  We have started curating our lives via our online influences/cer instead of having inherited available options.  It is like a move away from McDonalds to eat at a local burger shop that hand selects its ingredients.  This mass selection and availability of options is only one of the available digital media avenues that is causing a cultural revolution amongst younger generations, hopefully for the better.  

FA: Where do you see the future of developing countries like Afghanistan? Do you think online advertising and social media can help improve their economy and education system?

VR: Progress is inevitable but the question is when?  I think the future for any country comes from its mindset and her understanding of priorities. Then education, respect, empathy, and vitality.  Digital and social media can be the gateway and encyclopedia to such knowledge.

FA: Can central and south Asia be the cardle of a new economic growth with its cultural and economic diversity?

VR: Yes.  New opportunities will be found and new industries will be created.  It will be ripe for new startups especially with the advent of free information and new technologies. For example, physical product development companies will hugely benefit from 3D Printing technology, access to online designers, and global mass manufacturing options.

FA: How do you find yourself working in Central and South Asia Financial projects

VR: You have to be vigilant and realistic.  You also need to understand the psyche of the land, its motivations and fears.  You have to be persistent and patient.

FA: How do you define Central and south Asia's Economy and its Financial state?

VR: In evolution, we will only see viable and accountable growth when we start to see the demise of a parallel/grey market economy and when a small number of corporates, citizens, and politicians start to love their land more than their pockets.

FA: If you were in charge of designing a curriculum for education to children in high schools of developing countries like Afghanistan, what subject would you pick?

VR: As a curriculum, this would take a lot of thought and time because it needs to be well-rounded, practical, and relevant to the individual growth of each child.  Salman Khan at the Khan academy got an imperative part of education right when he realized that every individual learns and grows at their own pace.  Understanding what is being taught is both critical for students and difficult for educators. It would be wonderful if we structured a solution to tailor make education to fit a child vis a vis having a child fit the system.

As a subject, I would like to see introduced, a class, that does not pertain to any particular academic subject or vocation.  But rather one, that helps students understand and utilize their learnings at school to help develop their intuitive, cognitive, and emotional skills.  It would be difficult to structure such a class.  But I imagine it to allow practical games to solve cognitive issues, an open forum to getting students opinions on current events, family, women, etc, perhaps picking a project (whether collaborative/individual, social, capital, art, literature, analytics, or any other such) and helping them see it through; in short helping them think for themselves and assisting them through their formative years.  And of course, there would be no marks for being right or wrong on a project, only points for effort.   This I feel could help children be surer of themselves and more aware of their surroundings, it could help them see alternatives and offer creative solutions, it could help them achieve a goal and enrich their self-worth, it could also help them get broader perspective on their peers which in turn may make us fight less and maybe smile more.