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Bart HENDRIKX
Co-Founder | B.A.D. DATA
B.A.D. Data co founder Bart Hendrikx is a Dutch entrepreneur. The first 10 years of his adult life would make a pretty decent feature film like Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous (2000)" Touring with a US rock band, starring in a reality TV series, enjoying court side Lakers game seats with music legend Lou Adler, Dennis Hopper in Las Vegas and Jack Nicholson in Aspen. This environment led Bart to work with actors like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Through a 15 year career in film, television and advertising, Bart has worked as a producer and business strategist. From features to music videos, TV ads to even brand/music activations like the Sonos x Gorillaz Spirit House this year to reality series like "The Simple Life." He has worked for organisations such as 20th Century Fox, VH1/, Fox Searchlight, Fox Television, Endemol, MassiveMusic and Parasol Island. He even had his own production company for 5 years called VenSwichFilms which he ran out of Amsterdam and Los Angeles. Splitting his time for the last 13 years in cities like Berlin, Maastricht, Antwerp, London, Panama, Antibes, NY, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newport Beach and 5 years of Malibu, CA. Bart is now living in Amsterdam where he has settled for the last 2 years, in peace. In Amsterdam Bart has set himself up as a Business Consultant advising multiple clients varying from brands to production companies, advertising agencies, animation and sound studios. Bart's passion for the last 7 years is his blog (asktherightquestion.org) - and more recently his new business venture B.A.D. Data. Bart believes B.A.D. Data will be the bridge between the data and creative worlds.
questionnaire
What was your very first job?
It was at a market research agency. I was a 19 year old Hotel Management student in Maastricht. I was calling people for hours every day for surveys on Employee Engagement, Advertising pre-tests, Image studies and Customer satisfaction.
Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails.
For the past 2 years I have been a Business Consultant. I have advised multiple clients including brands, film production companies, advertising agencies, animation and sound studios. I describe myself as "a real time business soundboard"
I consult on many aspects of business such as communication, business strategy, new business development, public relations, business organisation and talent recruitment.
I've recently co founded an AI Media Consultancy called B.A.D. Data which will be launched in early 2018. B.A.D Data through real time insights will enable companies to personalise their communication strategy and therefore be more effective. My business partner and i are fascinated by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and all the possibilities it brings. Because of this i am engaged in all aspects involving setting up a start up and i absolutely love it.
How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? What was there train of events that brought you to where you are today?
I realised the creative world was for me the first time I stole a VHS tape off my older brother, I was 16. I watched Francis Ford Coppola's film Apocalypse Now and learned about the Italian 'writing with light' cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. This had a huge effect so much so i moved to Los Angeles at the age of 22. I had a fascinating and emotional six year roller coaster ride where I learnt all aspects of the filmmaking process. Armed with these skills i travelled the world and have finally returned to my home city of Amsterdam.
In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant?
I watch a lot of documentaries in my free time and read a lot. I also express myself through my blog asktherightquestion.org which i began seven years ago. Through my work i get to interact with a number of interesting business entrepreneurs. Together this gives me the regular boost of intellectual energy that i crave!
If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation it required, rather than its recognition or industry “success,” what would it be?
The Parasol Island/Saatchi & Saatchi "Days of Hope" project. We managed to raise the profile of increasing homelessness in major cities across Europe.
