Today’s Best Advice Q&A entry comes from David Antar, president of ViewScan and chairman of the board at A+ STEM Labs. He shares the best advice he’s ever gotten, gives tips to security industry pros on the rise and names his ultimate business muse.
Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
David Antar: Early in my career, a business mentor told me something that has stuck with me for 38 years: fall in love with your customer’s problem, not your product. I was young and eager, convinced the technology would sell itself. He pushed me to slow down and really listen — to understand what was keeping my customers up at night before I ever pitched a solution. That one shift changed everything.
Each of the 12 companies I’ve built over the years has started with the same two questions: what does the customer actually need and where is the market heading? The products came second. It taught me that the best technology in the world means nothing if it doesn’t solve a real problem for a real person.
I’m proud to say that I still lead with that today.
SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?
Antar: Stay curious and stay close to your customers. This industry moves fast — artificial intelligence, edge computing, the cloud, the threat landscape itself — and the people who succeed aren’t the ones who know the most today, but the ones who never stop learning.
Don’t chase every shiny object Understand where the market is going and be willing to reinvent yourself before you are left with no choice. The key to success is surrounding yourself with a great team and giving them room to invent. Some of our most successful products came from engineers that I trusted to solve hard problems their own way.
It’s also important to never lose sight of why we’re here. In security, our work protects people — students, teachers, facilities, and even entire communities. If you keep that mission at the center and treat customers as partners, the business success follows. Build something that makes the world a smarter, safer and healthier place.
SSI: If you could point to one person in the security industry and tell up-and-comers, “Make sure to listen to what they have to say,” whom would you pick and why?
Antar: I’d point to Martin Gren and Fredrik Nilsson of Axis Communications. Martin co-founded Axis and invented the world’s first network camera — a breakthrough that redefined our entire industry — and Fredrik, who leads Axis in the Americas, has been one of the clearest voices on where video and analytics are heading.
This one is personal for me: my company was the first Axis dealer in the United States and I still have one of the very first network cameras they ever built.
What up-and-comers should take from them isn’t just the technology; it’s the conviction to bet on an idea before the market has caught up to it and the patience to build that idea into a standard. That combination of vision and staying power is exactly what this industry rewards.
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