“I look so young,” is the first thing Keith says, followed by a sheepish smile as he stares at the images of him on the monitor, right after he stepped out of the set. For that very split second, he is transported back to where it all began, almost fifteen years ago.
Keith Low goes by many titles. Entrepreneur, strategic consultant, business development strategist, the list seems to never end. It comes as no surprise; when you are someone who has experienced so much in so little time, designations are merely fleeting labels, bound to change as quick as the season goes by. “I have been an entrepreneur for so long, that calling me that right now seems a little odd,” he says, and he jokes about how being called a ‘founder’ sounds even stranger. “It feels so stiff. It’s not necessarily wrong, but it doesn’t really feel like me.” For someone like Keith Low, what he truly is, is a leader.
“I spend most of my time developing the team leaders in my company,” he explains. He started his design and branding agency, Avant-garde Media Arts, just a little over seven years ago. “I don’t really call myself the ‘founder’, though, because that’s too one-dimensional. What I do is beyond just building an agency. My company is led by multiple teams, each with a specific task in hand, be it designing logos or making layouts. These teams are then headed by their own leaders, and I spend most of my time developing these team leaders,” he explains, “The rest is spent on networking. Meeting new people, casting the wider net, and maybe if all goes well, it will turn into a new partner in business.”
“Avant-garde is not my first venture in business,” he says. His smile turns fond, his eyes a little nostalgic. Perhaps in his mind, an image of him in his youth flashes by, still undaunted by the unknown. “I first started my journey as an entrepreneur back in 2009, right after I had finished my university studies in Brisbane, Australia. I flew back home to kick-start something, and like a lot of firsts, it didn’t work out.” He laughs about it with ease, as he looks back at where he started and where he is now. “Ever since then, I have been on both sides of the story. I did a couple more ventures, and in between those I had worked for others’ businesses as well. It is important to me to understand what it feels like to be both the employer and the employee, to know the work and struggles on both ends. After all, a company is built by those two groups of people. Both are indispensable.”
Yet it is not enough to be an entrepreneur if all one has is desire for profits, and maybe a sprinkle of audacity. To start a new business is to gamble with the devil; big checks, big returns, or so is the common mindset. “I can only be an entrepreneur because of the people who have faith in me,” Keith says, as he recounts the origin of Avant-garde. “Prior to this, I was a training consultant for companies, and my job was to ensure each employee met their training objectives. Then I came across a group of people, freelancers to the company.” There it is. That defining, fateful encounter many always read of in success stories, but an encounter is not enough. It needs something more. Again, a sprinkle of audacity.
“Back then, these people were designing for the company, but it turned out to not generate much profit and hence they were let go of. However, I could not simply let them go. I knew in my heart that they were talented. That they had that potential and fire in them, just nobody to add to their fuel. So I became that person, and here we are now,” and Keith is right on the mark. Many say it takes a keen eye to recognise the worth of an art piece, but for him, it takes more than just that. It takes faith. “I was very lucky to have them to trust in my vision. We became a team together, just a group of people who want to create something amazing. Safe to say, I am proud of them, and of us.”
“I am rarely concerned about my own success,” he says. It may sound hard to believe, maybe even borderline smug, but he says it with a firm yet gentle smile that shows his sincerity. “My success is only determined by my team members’ success. My job is not to sit back and reap the end results, but to let my team see their own potential. Everyone has their own niche talents, but often they don’t see their full capabilities themselves, maybe because they are the one being ‘them’. I’m the one outside looking in, the third person’s perspective, so I can objectively guide them to push their own limits.” He goes on to joke about his wish for his team members soaring above him. “I hope one day they can be better than me, and I am always happy to see them go beyond, even if it means leaving my company to try something new. Though the thing with people is, they care. The people with Avant-garde have built their own community. There is a sense of empowerment and ownership in what we do, because we all believe in working for the same common goal. I suppose that is what makes people stay.”
Anybody can be a leader, but a good leader is hard to come by. A good leader has a better leader. “I am blessed to be in an environment where everyone is ahead of me. Be it in my work, my wonderful family, or my faith, there are people who are better than me, and I am grateful for them. These are the people I look up to, the ones from whom I draw my wisdom from. My only wish is to one day be that person to those who come after me.”
