Interview with expert

Question. Alexey, please tell us about yourself.

Answer. I can call myself a naturalist since childhood. From an early age, I was interested in fish, frogs, grasshoppers and other insects.

From the age of three, I began to go fishing with my father, and later on all my hobbies were somehow connected with nature. As a photographer, I try to present the most intense and interesting story about a particular animal with the help of a single picture.

My professional biography was very rich, I was a journalist, entrepreneur, led various business projects in the field of trade and media, but my interest in nature has always remained my most serious passion.

Question. As far as we understand, "The Real World" is your main project. Please tell us how it appeared, what it means to you, what plans you associate with it.

Answer. "The Real World" is a YouTube channel about nature. It appeared quite by accident. My son is fond of a stunt scooter, and his grandfather gave him a camera for dynamic shooting. Once in the city center, he filmed the feeding of a flock of pigeons and mounted a funny video. I immediately went to the forest and at the hunting feeding ground took pictures of wild boars from the same angle and in 2017 launched "The Real World".

I myself shoot near my home and I think that everyone can notice a lot of interesting things near their place of residence. I live in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, a fairly large European city, and I shot one of my last videos with ducks literally two hundred meters from home. I shoot roe deer, deer, and swifts within 15-18 kilometers from home, which is also very close.

But, of course, "The Real World" isn't just about hosting my videos. We want to cover the entire globe, for which we rely on correspondents from different parts of our planet who can tell us what is happening near their home through unique shots and videos.

Question.  What impact has the pandemic had on your project, and how do you see its future?

Answer. For many people the pandemic has increased the importance of their home, their own place of residence. Home for a large number of people has become a place of work. Also, instead of going shopping, people started ordering home delivery. And being forced to be tied to their home, people are faced with the need to think about what interesting things are happening nearby. And it turns out that a lot of interesting things are happening nearby (at least as far as nature is concerned).

But in general, people's interest in observing nature began to noticeably increase even before the pandemic. It is no coincidence, for example, that birdwatching has become one of the most widespread and popular hobbies in many countries.

We have huge plans in connection with "The Real World". As I have already said, we are counting on a large number of correspondents who can report on nature in different parts of the world, and, of course, we want to see a lot of viewers. We also hope that we will help many people make observing nature a great and enjoyable hobby.

Question.  What does being a member of the OmniGrade expert community mean to you?

Answer. The answer is very simple: this is the fastest way to implement your ideas and make the world a little better.
I know of no other tool that provides an equally unique and easy-to-use opportunity to contribute to exciting projects and a more harmonious world.

Question. Does your own project "The Real World" and your vocation as a naturalist help you in your role as an expert? And one more question. One of our clients in the  financial inducalled one of your proposals brilliant and assured us that it would form the basis for a promising new business line. How did you manage it, since you have never been involved in the financial business?

Answer. When you sit and observe nature, for example, watching cranes in a field, a variety of thoughts come to mind, including those related to various businesses and projects. This is the very state when the brain receives positive signals from the outside. So, of course, it helps a lot.

As for the question about the financial business - this is not surprising. We all deal in finance, and we are all clients of financial institutions. And if a person is also an entrepreneur or a manager, then he also faces financial institutions on behalf of his company. This gives you a lot of information to think about, which just needs to be processed correctly.

My life experience helps me find familiar associations with the activities of a wide variety of companies. You recently started a crowdsourcing project with a construction company, and I remembered that my dad was a construction engineer. We also have a small family real estate agency. And finally, as a naturalist, I am very worried about environmental issues that are directly related to construction.

And at the same time, my view of the activities of these companies is a view from the outside, so it can bring something new and original.

Therefore, it is very important to me what different OmniGrade clients do, and it is very natural for me to think about their issues and find original solutions for them.