INTERVIEW WITH Walter Van Liesdonk and Katya Tuni of TIP TOP studios

This month we have a wonderful treat for you we here at Cam Life Magazine sat down with Walter Van

Liesdonk and Katya Tiuni of Tiptop studios in the Prague Czech Republic.

 CL: Ok first off thank you so much, Walter and Katya, for taking the time out of your busy schedules to sit down with us here at Cam Life Magazine and answer some questions for our readers. WVL: Our pleasure man. We feel honored to talk with Cam Life and discuss what we love to do in business.

CL: So Tell us how exactly did you two meet fall in love and become business partners? WVL: I met Katya at a smaller meeting of the adult industry on 15-10-2011 in Brno (the 2nd largest city in CZ). Called WebMaster Meeting East. Organized by Stefan Geisler (Reality Lovers) and Gunnar Steger EuroWebtainment). There was a bit shy girl, talking some words English with a very cute Russian accent and willing to understand and communicate because she is so motivated in this industry. After I got introduced by a friend we started talking and she explained to me why she was in the Czech Republic and a bit more about her background. And the talk started to get more and more interesting……

CL: What is your previous experience in the adult entertainment industry before starting Tiptop studios?  WVL: A friend of mine had an organization with around 23 company together with his partner. All related to the online adult industry. There was a small gateway called Card Gate which needed sales and marketing. I was the first ‘employee’ in this company. After acquiring multiple online banking licenses and growing big. I decided I needed more than only what I was doing. It gave me such a big experience in business life. I am very grateful to Chris Visser and Luc Huygen, the partner which I mentioned before. I was able to work with all elements of the organization and developed the skills I am using every day in business. I worked from 2008 till 2013. Before that time I managed Vodafone shops and had some small jobs before. In all that time I learned by experience and small courses like Sales Marketing, Business Development, and so on. 

CL: How did you go about starting one of Europe’s fastest-growing live Cam studios? WVL: The area we are working in (Czech Republic) is was shrinking. Due to the market changes: CR economy increased and online the tube sites came up, the studios needed to adjust into better model personality instead of only showing body and gross better revenue to reach the average earnings in the Czech Republic. Katya tested with a small studio in Prague to work the market and get results. After we looked back we saw the market opening and took it. To be honest we cannot say we are the biggest studio in Europe. But we are proud that we have models that we trained and skilled to be ‘online performers’ with a personality. Since we created a big network in the Russian talking community we are growing in the studios as well in home working models. As you say it correctly. The growth is there and the market is potential!

 CL: Ok Walter what exactly is your job title and duties at Tiptop studios? WVL: I try to manage everything regarding operational tasks, management of the team, advertising set up, training program, and overall well-being of the studio. 

CL; Katya so tell me what is your job title and duties for Tiptop studios? KT: When we just opened a studio, I and Walter were doing everything on our own – design, renovations, marketing, interviews, photo sessions, shifts, training, and so on. Honestly, we worked 24 hours, and we also lived in the studio… After a while, we started to grow and we added more members to our team, who were divided the duties. Right now I am responsible for training and educating models on how to generate Top earnings by being a unique online personality.

CL: How do you two balance your professional lives and personal lives like family? WVL: It is difficult but possible. We have a family, a relationship, and a lot of business together. Katya got pregnant at the moment the studio was growing very fast. At that moment we start getting the experience of how to manage it. We try to make a clear separation of responsibilities and we only try to talk about work during our weekly meeting. This makes it all more comfortable and gives more time for each other instead of always discussing the ongoing things. We learned that even we share the same passion, you need to put a priority on the relationship. 

 CL: I know you both attended a lot of trade shows which can be a lot of fun but it’s also a lot of work. Can you tell us about some of your experiences at trade shows? WVL: Tradeshow is for me the biggest motivation for doing business. I gain knowledge, business partners, friends, and enjoy the different locations where they are. The online adult industry small compared to the other industries. The people are more open-minded in life and I see a higher trust level in this business. Every business has its pro and cons. But I cannot name any other industry where the atmosphere between people is on such a level. 

A nice example is that where ever we go we find local ‘business friends’ that show us around or invite us for another weekend trip to their city. It’s the best way to get to know each other and make the right choices in business. Even if there is no connection at this point. Long term base gives too many benefits. And let’s be honest, a helping hand or just a friendly talk doesn’t cost anything. But goes a long way.

CL: What sets Tiptop studios apart from other webcam studios? WVL: that is a difficult question. I can only say what I think makes our business still alive. And that is passion, commitment, and trust. And a lot of experience in what we do. Katya manages the development of the models. I manage a studio with all my experience in different situations and educations in the past. Every business plan has the same goal: making money. But being successful in this in long term I think we go a long way with these things.

 CL: What are some of the benefits of a cam model to work in a studio instead of as an independent? WVL: When a cam model is in need of a quality room, photoshoots, training, and coaching she has a good choice to contact one of our studios. Next to the fact that for some models it is difficult to work from home because she is not living alone. Or that the working mentality for her is activated when they ‘arrive at work’. You need to have good self-management to be a successful model from home. And be consistent in what you do in the long term. A high earning webcam model does not start after an interview but Is made in the many months online. 

CL: Ok what kind of working relationship do you two have with the models working at tip-top studios? WVL: We keep work and private strictly separate from team and models. This does not mean we are not nice or harsh. But this keeps a focus on doing business. This is our mutual goal.

We always say you can’t manage friends. But you can be business friends. 😉

 CL: Now Katya I now you have a passion for training the models and helping all the models grow as performers at Tiptop studios? KT: Yes that’s true! Somehow I always felt great when I could help others to grow with earnings or personally. I started in this industry as a studio owner, but also always tested the model’s work myself. I found that for me it was always much easier to make a lot of money online than my models. Then I started to think about what’s a reason and how can I teach models to do the same. After my training models increased with earnings a lot and also felt so much more confident online. In my 12 years of experience as a model and trainer, I created and developed a unique author’s training program which was successfully used by Tiptop Studio and studios-partners for more than 500 models.

CL: This is something that every new cam model wants to know how many cam top cam models at Tiptop studios? KT: I believe everybody is earning exactly as much as she needs! That’s why we make a plan with every model for what she wants to achieve in her life or in a certain period (a car, real estate, study, own business and etc), so she has a clear target. The focus of my training is to bring a model to average earnings of 5000-10000$ per month. But there are always girls who are more ambitious and willing to work harder for better results in our studio. So I work individually with every model by analyzing her personal goals and together we always go for a result with maximum power.

CL: About how many models work with Tiptop studios? KT: We have the capacity for 30 models in one studio. This number is ideal for our vision of quality work. 

 CL: What live Cam sites do you guys work with? KT: We focus on Premium webcam platforms.

CL: Now it’s my belief that the Live Cam industry is more than just a business it’s a Community and everyone wants to help everyone do well. What are your thoughts on this? KT: I totally agree! When I started cam business in Ukraine I had absolutely nobody to talk with about my work. Happily, I found same-minded people from the industry on the internet on forums and social networks. And later I visited my first trade show – it was TES 2011 in Prague. There I met so many awesome people in real. I finally could talk about my work proudly and share an experience. It is really the best community for me because people are so open, kind, super cool, and have unique personalities. I think I fell in love with the industry and people on this show. It is a very big heartwarming feeling I got when people from the industry see our studio between many and nominate us. It is a recognition which I never expected. 

You were both and your company Tiptop studios were featured in an article Tiptop studios a labor of love in our very first issue of Cam Life magazine. So what did you do think of the article?

CL: Now I know you guys also just started a training school for cam performers. This must be very exciting but also a lot of hard work can you tell us about this new project? KT: Right now we are working hard on the organization of a training center for cam performers. The education will be based on my Training Program, which I mentioned earlier.

CL: How would the new school benefit new models for the cam industry, and how can it benefit a model who has been working for a while? KT: Of course the main goal of the school is making more money. We offer a unique complex of knowledge and 12 years of experience for online performance. And what’s more important we always will be growing and developing ourselves, because the process of learning is a cycle. There is always new information and technologies in the market. Our priority is to be in step with the times.

CL: Tiptop studios has been recognized for several awards and nominations by the industry what was it like to be recognized for all your hard work? WVL: Yes it is always a surprise to see friends telling us we were nominated and our studio name was on the screen. I think we missed 3 or 4 nominations in the EU and US without even knowing. And to be honest we never focussed on being nominated. … 

CL: You were both and your company Tiptop studios were featured in an article Tiptop studios a labor of love in our very first issue of Cam Life magazine. So what did you do think of the article? KT: I think it was a great article and absolute truth. I have a very warm and proud feeling when I read it!

WVL: It gave a similar feeling to being nominated. It is nice to read about yourself and gives self-reflection and I started to realize what I achieved together with Katya and gives me a proud feeling. Without my women, I would be where I am right now.

CL: So have you picked up a copy of Cam Life yet? Yes of course. And proudly showing people if they want to know more about the work and life in ‘Camlife’

CL: Ok, so how can someone contact you if they wanted to work with Tiptop as a performer or were interested in your new training center? They can simply visit our website or Facebook page

#TiptopstudioPrague (Studio Ostrava business page)#TiptopStudioOstrava(Studio Ostrava business page)@waltervan liesdonk (insight view of work and life)@KatyaTiuni(insight view of work and life) #teamtuna(trade show visits)