crash.net

Crash.Net Ltd is a UK company specializing within the motorsport industry. They have split the business into three main divisions in order to leverage their specialized market.

We spoke to their Managing Director, Bryn Williams.

Your name: Bryn Williams

Position / title: Managing Director

Company name: Crash.Net Limited

Websites:

www.crash.net

www.crashnewmedia.com

www.crashpa.net
www.crashprm.net

Your company / website vision statement / goal:

We are a new media agency with three different divisions.

1. New Media Agency.

2. Crash.Net an online motorsport magazine.

3. A Photographic division which specializes in the photography of motorsport and the automotive industries.

Have you always wanted to run your own business? What were some of your previous jobs / companies?

Have been freelance or self employed for 99% of my working career, didn't always have an ambition to run my own business but once you're doing your own thing it's very difficult going back to work for someone or another organization.

Previous work included being a Formula One photographer for the UK's leading motorsport magazine and also for the UK's leading motorsport photo agency.

Have you got any qualifications? Please tell us about yourself academically?

I have a HND (Higher National Diploma) in Business Studies, no formal photographic training, that's just developed over time and experience.

The HND has now become very relevant in running my own business and as the company grows the areas which I specialized in which was Sales and Marketing are really proving of use to us now.

How / when did the idea of your website / company come about?

To be honest it was never planned, I was approached by another news agency to provide them with F1 imagery back in 1996, they suggested a contract payment of creating a B2B website for my then photographic agency.

At first I replied with a definitive NO, but spoke to a number
of clients about their plans for the World Wide Web. They all came back saying they were investing thousands, one even came back and said their budget was over 1 million, at that stage I said yes please I'll have a website!!

The site was launched in October 1996 as www.F1PictureNet.com, a B2B site targeting motorsport industry, publishers and advertising agencies, within 3 months with no advertising or marketing the site was attracting over 1 million Hits per month, this proved to us that there was a separate business here to be developed, therefore Martin Nolan who was the account director assigned to my business and I became business partners in what has now become the busiest and best motorsport portal on the internet.

Today Crash.Net attracts over 1.2 Million Unique Users per month and over 38 Million Page Impressions, covering more than 20 international motorsport championships and having in excess of 600,000 online archived images on the site.

If you could give readers of this book one piece of advice what would it be?

Never give up on a dream, put in the effort, you'll be rewarded and don't trust a soul, you'll be shafted in time!!

Who are your role models / mentors and why?

Bernie Ecclestone and Richard Branson.

Bernie simply because he has incredible vision and has built Formula One up to what it is today, a hugely successful and lucrative business, a great deal of us within the sport owe a debt of gratitude to Mr Ecclestone, he's made several team owners and others within Formula One multi-millionaires, it's a shame he hasn't made me one yet!

Richard Branson because he started from nothing and followed a dream but worked his balls off to achieve it, not only that but he created a brand from a very controversial name 'Virgin' therefore there are parallels with our business 'Crash'. We too hope to create a brand under the Crash banner, who knows, in 10 years we may have Crash branded clothing, cola, phones and various other businesses, although I don't think anyone will be flying on Crash Airlines though!!

Excluding yours, what company / website do you like / admire the most?

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