As non-executive director, Ian Grant provided advice on management structure, financial planning and the transition from start-up to continuous trading. The company was founded by Shahidul Alam, a globally recognised photographer and political activist in his home country, Bangladesh, and Colin Hastings, a British management consultant specialising in team structures with a particular interest in the development of photographers in the third world (the ‘Majority World’ of the company’s name).
There were challenges deriving from the need to create a globally available picture library with a fully functional sales system; from a geographically split board; from a restricted capital base; and from the need to launch and show growth potential before major funders would support the business. The small team met the challenges, raised funds, re-shaped itself following erratic sales and continues to trade and grow, offering new work from photographers whose output would otherwise be largely invisible to customers around the world.