By Mel Dikert
Drew Alumni Albert Anthony Bozulic recently self-published a book on Jan. 1, under the pen name Albert Anthony. The book is titled “Inside the Brand: Lessons from the Real World of Business & Technology” and, according to his website, it consists of “…100 lessons for creating a powerful customer experience.”
Anthony attended Drew University from 1999 to 2003. Contrary to what one might assume from his book, he actually was not a Business major, but rather a Political Science major with a Writing minor. When asked how he got into business and technology after college, Anthony responded, “[…] I did not even think about the business & tech world until after college when it was out of necessity and at the time that was where the work was so I had to quickly adapt to corporate life.” Anthony worked at several Fortune 500 companies including Facebook, Apple, HomeAway and Accenture, among others. Anthony then combined all of his experiences from working at these different corporations into a list of his favorite lessons that he felt future entrepreneurs would benefit from knowing. “My audience would be current or future entrepreneurs, leaders, but also students,” he commented. The book itself is divided into 100 short chapters each briefly explaining a lesson that he mentions right at the beginning. Some lessons in his book include, “A powerful customer experience is one that is also memorable,” “For a customer experience to be truly powerful, it has to be immersive” and “If you are not passionate about buying what you sell, you cannot truly sell the experience to others either.”
Anthony’s time at Drew had a huge effect on him both in the business world and in his life. He mentioned that he used to have a radio show on WMNJ his freshman year and that he was on the fencing team and Living Council. He also participated in the Washington Semester. Anthony remembers taking classes with former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean, who at the time of his enrollment here was the president of Drew, and Christina Baker Kline, who is a current bestselling author. “A memorable effect Drew has on you,” he said, “is it encourages being active & involved whether in class or out […] By being engaged and active you are creating value and that is how economies grow.. real humans coming together to generate commerce.”
Anthony says that he misses Madison, as it was like a second home to him, his original hometown being Hoboken, New Jersey. He enjoys coming back to visit whenever he can and seeing the new generation of students. Advice Anthony would give to his freshman self is “[…] to be more involved with theatre and the campus TV since […] those who can forge a talent on camera will truly set themselves apart. […] The real value is being known by people and not simply being in a comfort zone & too anonymous.”
If anyone is interested in purchasing Anthony’s book, it can be found on Amazon. There is also a free preview that can be downloaded from his website, www.albertanthony.co.
