CONQUERING THE DIGITAL WORLD

When Riyad started his company 2 years ago, he would try to do everything! "Inherently, I used to get myself engaged into every little operation of the business, which in a way is good, but has its downsides," he says. Eventually, he managed to attract the right people into the company who have made it possible for him to concentrate on his own work.

Riyad Shahir Ahmed Husain, the CEO of Magnito Digital, is not only known for his unique digital marketing service, but also his exclusive training sessions and skill development courses.

After completing high school in Scholastica, Dhaka and accomplishing a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Richmond University, UK, Riyad got into a graduate management trainee programme at Arcadia Group Limited. "Six months into my programme, I was selected in the top 20 candidates among 500+ graduates for the prestigious Arcadia Scholarship Programme," he says. "After a rigorous set of activities and workshops, I was a finalist and was interviewed by Robert Peston (Editor of BBC Business), Patience Wheatcroft (Editor of Wall Street Journal Europe) and Sir Philip Green (Chairman of Arcadia Group)." In early 2007, Riyad returned to Dhaka and started a marketing communication firm, ROOT Marketing Services. After working in the communication field for 6 years, he finally began Magnito Digital in early 2013.

Magnito Digital is a full service digital marketing agency, which was formed in 2013 with a vision to empower brands and companies in Bangladesh to embrace the new era of marketing. It works throughout the digital spectrum, offering services in search, social, web and mobile marketing. "We are the dedicated digital marketing agency of Grameenphone and a2i (Access to Information) Programme, a project of UNDP and USAID at the Prime Minister's Office," adds Riyad. "Apart from that, we work with clients such as City Bank, Marico, Symphony, Maximus, Mobil Bangladesh, Nitol Group, Ejab Group, Sajeeb Group, Unilever and Telenor Digital, Norway."

Choosing enterprenuership right after school was definitely a difficult choice, especially during a time when his contemporaries were opting for banks, telecommunication firms and other multinational companies. "I always wanted to create an impact and bring a change into whatever I am doing," he says. "I see entrepreneurship as the gateway that has allowed me to experiment such a philosophy." In the next five years, Riyad sees Magnito operating in at least 2 different countries. "To me, the most important factors of succeeding in business are integrity, hardwork and vision," he says. 

According to Riyad, anyone can come up with great ideas. "But not everyone can execute," he says. Thus his advice to all bubbling with ideas inside would be to stay focussed and go into action rather than merely talking.