How RC4 Provided A Launchpad for Passion and Creative Entrepreneurship

By Benedict Chang

 

What is a residential college? For some, it’s a home away from home, a place to try new sports and bond over cooking classes. For others, it’s a place to explore intellectual curiosities, and share classes with like-minded peers. For Danish, it is a platform of growth and opportunity for the passions which drive him.

Danish is the founder of DANAMIC, a collective group comprising of an editorial platform and a creative marketing agency. As its name might suggest, the company’s conceptualisation closely mirrors the life of its founder. Danish designed websites from a young age and offered his works for various clients online, helping him develop a keen eye for creative digital work. Eager to take charge of his own space, he soon transitioned to editorial work, covering slices of lifestyle and technology in his own website, and eventually equipped himself with photography and videography experience to flesh out his coverage. Armed with his experience in media and production, Danish formally incorporated DANAMIC in 2018, and manages the company to this day.

Opportunities Galore

Steeped in the throes of developing his brand, Danish also entered university in 2018, starting his life in Residential College 4. He entered the college with a simple goal in mind: “What can I do in terms of either helping with or getting stuff for the students?” From there, Danish found opportunities all across RC4. Whether it be media support at the Inter-College Games or large-scale publicity efforts for the student body, Danish tapped on his interests and moulded his place in the broad landscape of student life. Working with stakeholders to secure sponsorships as Deputy of Marketing for the College Students’ Committee, Danish again reflected that “it's more of contributing my connections back to RC4, not so much about getting connections.”

Learning and Growing in the College

In exploring these interests throughout his college years, Danish reflects on the experiences that have shaped his hands-on approach to leadership. “I think what I learned [being the Deputy Head of Marketing] was teaching the other residents how you approach marketing”, he explained. “That's why I contribute to things when I hire staff. When we teach the process, I'm reminded again how we need to fill those gaps.”. In RC4’s theme of systems thinking, integrated in the college’s annual seminar offerings for students, Danish finds this management style backed by a comprehensive analytical framework. “I never knew how to articulate the process in words until I stayed in RC4”, he says of his classes. “It helped me build better explanations and build better pitches”. Indeed, when COVID struck, DANAMIC came rigorously prepared to handle the complexity of the crisis, adapting to new media production opportunities such as live streaming. Most strikingly, the community he found in RC4 moved beyond the college space and went on to directly shape his work; embracing the close friends he made in the college, Danish brought them into DANAMIC itself as trusted partners. With the student body comprised of residents from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, he found his friends providing the company with diverse perspectives and robust competencies. “Because all those other people have those experiences in school or from just learning peripherally, it's easier for us”, Danish explains.

“Bigger projects, cooler things”

Looking toward the future, Danish continues to monitor emerging trends and opportunities. “The fact that ChatGPT is really challenging a lot of norms is quite interesting. Even for us, we’re not shy,”, he says. “How can you be more creative or how can you just do new things? If your time is saved in one place, what do you do with that saved time for something else?” Towards the end of our chat, Danish speaks to us of his ambitions to keep DANAMIC bold, growing its capabilities and reach. He invites us to a tour of DANAMIC’s newly acquired workspace just beside its current office, pointing out the multitude of plans that he has for the new unit.

Warm and Lovely Pantry 

 

Lounge for Co-workers to Unwind 

Sneak Peek at Danamic’s New Office Space

 

Offering advice to future residents of RC4, he speaks personally of the value of being comfortable in vulnerability. “Get to know at least one or two people, like your neighbours. That is a social circle that you could have never had.” In the diverse experiences under his belt and the outlook he now shares, Danish embodies this fundamental spirit of entrepreneurship.

DANAMIC DANAMIC and DNMC Creative are based in Singapore and together they make up an integrated, full-fledged creative agency that knows local culture and produces content. Danamic also have their own in-house teams for photography, copywriting, and film production. By creating storylines that speak to rather than at their target customers, Danamic rethink the ways in which brands and businesses communicate.