"It Is Important to Believe in Your Cause"

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1. Tell us more about your company and your journey.

Five Owl Films is an independent media consultancy & youth-oriented content creation firm which was started by the students of IIM-Indore, back in 2016. As of now, we have done more than 100 videos & provided 16 clients with a variety of deliverables such as advertisements, sketch- videos, short films, poetry, blogs, photography, and other corporate videos.

Our clientele ranges from Mumbai to Dubai. Some of our esteemed clients include Mardi Gras Lifestyle, Anisuma Training Insitute, PGPMX IIM-Indore, Atharv, and
Ranbhoomi Fest- IIM-Indore, EPGP IIM-Indore, etc. We have been winners for various short film festivals, majorly focused on the recent social issues. MAAC-India and C4MH Campaign are a few of our previous successful associations. The two best things about running this company are that we get to apply the learnings from our courses directly, and we also get a chance to interact with people from different backgrounds. We have a lot of fun throughout the whole process, which is why we are passionate about taking this forward.

The journey has been quite fascinating for me. Since my school days, I was interested in writing poems related to social topics such as fat-shaming, child sexual abuse, etc. The sole purpose of this was to make people aware of what was happening around them and igniting an emotional touch with these issues. Publishing these poems online would have been an easy way to go forward. But, considering the amount of time which people spend these days reading blogs or even searching for them, it felt as if it wouldn’t do justice to the extent of impact which I wanted to create.

Short films were getting a lot of attention during that time, and I thought it would be the perfect medium to deliver the message in a brief yet impactful way. That, combined with my obsession with Mystery-Thriller movies such as Shutter Islands, Fight Club, The Machinist, etc. inspired me to work towards my goal and to take a step towards becoming a successful writer-director one day. Working on different scripts made me realize how to connect with people and to develop stories that entice them.

I set timely goals for myself, aiming to develop new skills. It was because of this practice that I decided to write and completed my first Mystery-Thriller novel- ‘The Mystery of Questions.’ I am proud to say that I am an introvert. Usually, people attach a negative connotation to that. For them, introverts are the ones who do not like interacting with a lot of people, and they remain in their shell. On the other hand, I take that as a blessing. Being an introvert gives me a lot of time to inspect and evaluate the environment that I live in.

It consists of questions such as how people behave, what’s the broader context which decides how things happen, what’s the connection between these two, and how I can add value to the society. It also helps me to introspect about my strengths and weaknesses, my way of working, and especially how to maintain relevant relationships which could help the society at large. I firmly believe that this quality reflects in the content which I write and the lens through which I view the world. Ultimately, this brings out a refined input and a unique quality that I

bring to the board for taking this entity forward.

2. How did you come up with this idea and go about executing it?

Back in 2016, there were a few entities such as AIB and TVF, which were extensively followed by the younger generation. It was both the content and the young personality of people working behind because of which people could connect easily with them. There surely were some contentions about the way they created their videos, but we focused more on the interaction of their audience with them.

That particular phenomenon caught our attention. It was then that a few of my friends and I thought of creating something which the
student community would accept and follow. We didn’t have any expertise related to any of the functions required for making a film. But, we thought of experimenting to check where exactly did we stand and what our strengths were, which could be used in the future. We wanted to have a base of followers attracted to our channel so that we could execute our bigger goals later. So we started making videos related to life at our college and started uploading them on our Youtube Channel & Facebook Page.

Before us, a few of our seniors tried making videos to entertain the campus students. The content was received very well by the community, but the consistency was something that took a significant hit. It was basically because of the extensive course work which we had.

The Integrated Program in Management, IIM-Indore gives exposure to various topics ranging from Political Science, Economics, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Performing Arts, Psychology, and many more. This perfect blend of subjects gives the student a comprehensive view of the world around them and leads them to the path of becoming contextually-relevant and socially-conscious managers. Having a team makes it easy to tackle problems like these as we could plan our projects effectively by having specific duties assigned to people.

Our first project, which caught a lot of eyes inside our campus, was a dance video based on a song ‘Udd Gaye’ composed by Ritviz. We had limited resources, which is why we had to look for possible collaborations with the student community to help us out. One of our batchmates agreed to perform in the video. Owing to her experience in that field, we could do something out the box with that video. With this video, we gained the base of followers, which we aspired to get for scaling up. Similarly, for future projects, we tried involving the
students to maximize the utilization of our connections. Next, we wanted to gain credibility from the people working in this industry.

We participated in a Short-film competition organized by MAAC-India, which was based on the topic of child sexual abuse. As I wanted to make content for a subject like this, it was a golden opportunity for me to enter the field. But, it again had to be something out of the box to win a competition which invited entries across India. We brainstormed a lot thinking about questions like what would people relate to, what will be the perfect medium to send the message across, how will the audience receive it, etc. Finally, we thought of making a poem that imbibed insights from the then-current news and the possible solution, all covered in a span of 1min 35 secs. Winning that competition not only gave us credibility but also took our motivation to a different level altogether. After that, our quality of work improved, and we
knew what we were good at.

Combining these two experiences, we tried expanding to the corporate side by making an advertisement for a cloth manufacturing company that focused on the youth. We also tried applying our learnings from the courses which we were taking to enhance the impact of our videos and to make them even more professional. From then on, the work spoke for itself, and we started getting projects related to NGOs, Academic Institutions (IIM-Indore), independent media channels, and many more. Setting the right goals, giving it proper time,

utilizing our resources, asking for help, keeping pace with the changing trends, committing to the quality of work, and being conscious about the needs of our clients helped us to reach where we are. We aim to continue providing relevant content for the younger generation and to expand our professional services for making a mark in the industry.

3. What has been your biggest challenge that you faced, and how did you overcome that?

In my opinion, apart from the relevant knowledge, two things that decide the fate of an entity are - consistency and financial health. We faced challenges in both of them. Considering our academic commitments, we didn’t have enough time to dedicate to our channel. Neither did we have enough savings to buy professional equipment for improving our quality. In today’s world, people in this industry are fighting for undivided attention and increasing screen-time from their viewers. As it’s a very competitive market with new players coming each day and a limited amount of time, which people have for viewing content, it becomes essential to be consistent with your output. Both in terms of quality and quantity.

It took a lot of time for us to figure out how to be consistent, as neither one of us had any experience of working in an entity like this before. We started researching how the other players in the market were performing. We had to come up with specific factors that defined our success as they would ultimately define our milestones. Once this was done, we started setting weekly and monthly targets along with dividing the work based on each member’s strengths. We looked for as much help as we could get from our community members to speed up the process and for getting appropriate feedback. It is something where people usually go wrong. They shy away asking for help or consider it inappropriate. But, having multiple perspectives and helping hands make you refine your work to position it in a better way for your target audience. Soon, a process was set up through which we could time our
projects in a better way.

Handling the financial part was extremely difficult. We had to look for all the possible ways of earning revenue to support our expenses. We came up with a specific budget for each project and tried to generate enough income to cover the next two months. In the beginning, we had to put some of our own money for expenses such as Facebook ads, equipment rentals, etc. We participated in a lot of competitions starting with the basic ones, which helped us to buy better gadgets which improved our quality. Then, it became a cycle. We continued
generating better content and winning more competitions. Upon reaching a considerable quality level, we expanded in the corporate world, which opened up further sources of revenue. With that, we could improve our content on the Youtube channel, which increased our penetration, further opening new ways of earning income. The critical element here is to take smart risks and to have a proper saving schedule, which helps you achieve your targets and to be sincere with your efforts.

Another factor that posed a challenge was the thinking which people have about the ones who make creative content. We started doing a couple of projects for free in the beginning to gain some experience and to develop our portfolio. It helped us to create useful contacts and to mark our spot in this space. But after that, people started expecting us to do tasks for free because they thought that they were giving us a platform to get known. Usually, people believe that, because its not a ‘Technical’ job, it does not require a lot of effort, which is why
the service could be offered for free. The same thing happens with free-lancer artists who specialize in dance, music, art, etc. The term free-lancing is closely getting resembled to someone who does not have a job and can thus be exploited. We are thankful to our professors, who guided us on how to tackle that and even allowed us to work with them. One way to get out of this is, first, to accept that even if you are free-lancing, you are in a business. We need to clearly communicate why our skills are worth their money and why we are different from others. Our voice and our brand can help us get what our talent deserves.

4. What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful entrepreneur?

There is no set rule which can define what will make someone a successful entrepreneur. Each individual has their own story and ways to tackle challenges coming their way. But, there are a few qualities that I have seen in most of the entrepreneurs whom I follow and look up to. Some of them are as follows-

1) Innovation-

There are various definitions of innovation out there, but most of them have a
common trait, which is that it should be something that provides value to society. An
entrepreneur must be good at analyzing what is the need of the hour and how can they
solve the issue with the maximum efficiency.

2) Observant-

A customer never tells you what they need; they just show it by their actions.
Entrepreneurs need to be aware of their surroundings. They must be in a forever
learning mode so that they can increase their scope of thinking. It would also provide
them with new ideas to execute and refine their existing products.

3) Smart Risk-Taking-

Everyone is aware of the risk-reward theory, but it is especially important for
entrepreneurs as they often enter unchartered territories. It takes a lot of planning and
research to identify the correct way of moving forward, which usually comes with a
pool of risks. Rather than running away from them, we must use our strengths or
develop capabilities to mitigate those risks and ease our functioning. This process of
taking calculated risks helps us in differentiating from our competitors as well as
makes us understand the developments which are required to run the entity.

4) Passionate-

The entrepreneurship road is never easy. There are uncertainties and numerous
hurdles in the way which can even be societal sometimes. But, passion and the need
for achievement gives an entrepreneur, the ability to keep fighting and working
towards their goal. Hence, it is of utmost importance for them to know what exactly
they are passionate about. So that they can shape their journey accordingly.

Moreover, it also helps them to learn from their mistakes as they have a larger goal in
mind, which simplifies the process of overcoming smaller setbacks.

5) Networking Skills-

Talking with like-minded people helps us to increase our knowledge base and to
widen our track of thought. They bring in new perspectives that can enhance our
functioning. Connecting with the right people also facilitates effective collaboration.
By interacting with a broader set of people, we can learn from their failures and can
reduce our chances of making the same mistake. Moreover, by listening to their
journey, we can get insights and inspiration to shape our entity in a better way.

5. What are some of the most important factors for running a successful business?

Every business comes with its specifications and working style. Some will have frequent interactions with the customers, and some can be completely back-end roles. But, looking through a broader lens, there are a few things which, if not done, can harm the business severely.

1. Understanding the scope of your business-

We must always be sure about the things which we can do and the ones which we can’t. Taking up projects which involve a skill-set different from what we specialize in, can hurt our profits as well as our reputation in the industry. On the other hand, we must also not undermine the scope and leave opportunities that might arise either due to collaborations or complement services, etc. Being sure of our territories helps us to reduce unwanted risks and improve our profits.

2. Marketing Skills-

Every aspiring entrepreneur gives a lot of thought to their product, puts in a lot of effort to build a prototype, tests it in the market, and improves it further. But, what also matters is how they tackle the product once it is out in the market. Often, people make a mistake by thinking that their product is so superior that it will sell by itself, and they will not have to put in efforts to market it appropriately. Whether or not your product is superior, you must invest sufficiently in putting across the point which you want to make. It should be our goal to enlighten our target audience about the benefits which they can get from our product. If we are unable to do that, then our competitors can quickly snatch them from us. They must also get out of what is known as Marketing Myopia. What we mean by this is that people must focus on the broader issue which they are addressing rather than specific cases. It helps us to position our

product better and to reach a larger target audience.

3. Futuristic Vision-

Businesses need to come at a pace with the changing trends and needs of society. If we are using outdated technology, then nobody will trust us with our work. We need to anticipate if our product will be relevant three or four years down the line. If not, then it is the best time to start developing capabilities that can make you a trusted brand. People must plan their strategies keeping the customer in mind and the associated impact which it will have on their lives.

4. Developing Partnerships-

Every business has to set up a cohort of entities around them which they can get in touch with if they need specific inputs. These might be their suppliers or other businesses, which can create synergy and generate mutual profits. If we have people backing us, then it becomes easy to get customers on board as they get assured about the delivery of the services.

5. Team Dynamics-

When people are good at something, they often feel that they alone can create a business out of it. But, there are a lot of risks in that process. Our vision can get restricted; our skill-set is defined; our views might be skewed, etc. All of this suggests that your business entirely depends on the well-being of a single person. Whereas, having a team increases your connections, widens your vision, narrows down the ideal path, increases consumer’s trust, and helps you mitigate risks faster. But, one must be cautious about the partners which they get on board. They should have a strong connection with the business and within the team so that their personal goals are aligned with those of the company. If that state is achieved, a lot of problems automatically get resolved.

6. What are your tips for first time and aspiring entrepreneurs?

Taking the first step towards entrepreneurship is very difficult. It involves a lot of emotional support and strength to do something like this. Because people have different expectations from us and often under their pressure, people disregard the idea of going for entrepreneurship. But, we can improve our chances of success if we can anticipate the problems which we might face in
the future and try to gather resources to tackle them. One crucial aspect is to feel for the cause that you are working for. If that connection to the purpose is missing, then it becomes challenging to stay focused and motivated while taking the business forward. There are a few things which helped me during this process of becoming an entrepreneur-

1. Mentors-

When it is our first try getting into a business, there are various things which neither the online courses nor our textbooks can tell. These things often come with the first-hand experience of that particular industry. We were fortunate enough to find mentors who told us which step would be ideal to take considering the stage that we were in. It is always a good idea to discuss your plan with someone trustworthy, who can break it down for you both in terms of positives and negatives. They can tell you where exactly to gain knowledge from, which partnerships to make, how to deal with people in your business, etc. All of this protects you and gives you an extra layer of confidence that you
have a credible backing. If you can get someone who is an expert in that field, even finding customers becomes easy, as they start trusting your brand even more.

2. Reading-

As we have limited time to experience things first hand, we need a source that can tell us how we would feel if we had been in some other situation. Books open up a new world for us. Reading about other businesses, the struggles of other founders, your ideals, technological developments, etc. can help you gain the relevant knowledge and can even prepare you for expanding in the future. Having multiple perspectives on the existing issues is crucial to find the optimal solution which you can offer. Books can be your friend for doing that.

3. Handling Initial Success-

Some entrepreneurs get success quite early in their careers. It could be because of their superior and in-demand product or even their luck. But, what matters more than anything is how we tackle that success. There have been instances in the past where the founders got too relaxed or got too excited. It led them to make bad investments, which otherwise could have increased their success even more. We must always be humble about what we get, and our vision should always take the first seat. If you maintain your calm and analyze every opportunity with an objective lens in consideration with your partners and mentors, you can make suitable investments that can take your entity to great heights. But if greed takes over that process, then your entity is bound to fall.

4. Attend Events-

Nowadays, every city organizes events such as the Entrepreneurship summit, Startup conclaves, Investor Pitch, Incubator connects, etc. These events are a rich source of knowledge as you get to meet people who either have done significant work in their field or are willing to take a chance just like you. The insights that we get after listening to these stories are inspiring and can change the way we look at a problem or an opportunity. One can even find a perfect partner to share the board with or a potential business deal. It helps the world to know that your entity exists and that you are willing to take it forward.

5. Don’t stick to one idea-

People with an ambition of doing something significant with their life often get a lot of ideas in their heads. One mistake which they make is to rush with the first idea which they get without properly evaluating what the repercussions can be or what the future will look like. Adding to that, if we start early, we do not have enough experience, which is why we make mistakes. So, it is normal for several of our ideas to fail. But, the key is to know when to move on from an idea in pursuit of a better one while maintaining the same level of spirit and enthusiasm. It does not mean that we should take every setback as a failure. Because of this, reading books, having mentors, and gaining relevant

knowledge becomes essential as they make us realize what our best option is.

7. How can one overcome a hurdle of lack of funds when starting up?

If we want others to believe in our business, we first have to prove that we believe in it. One way to show that is to put your own money as the initial investment. The moment we do that, we start a few projects, deliver the quality, and get people to invest in us. We must be crystal clear about our business model and about how much money do we need. It is a good idea to approach your friends and family for help, as that would give you the cheapest credit available. As we keep doing business, we get to know the various sources of revenue and avenues to scale our business. It is at that point when people usually approach an investor. The founders should know precisely at which stage of the startup life-cycle they are in, and depending on that, they should select

which type of investor they want to approach. A common mistake is to call people for investments too early. It takes a lot more than just a good idea to convince an investor to fund your entity. Some pointers must be kept in mind while doing so-

1. Analyze the investor’s previous investments and their style of working. There must be a synergy between the thought process of both parties. The founders must think about a concrete plan as to how they will get the investor’s money back and what is their exit strategy.

2. The pitch should include previous financial data but should emphasize the future cash flows and assets which you would be generating in the process. Our vision should get reflected in the action plan so that the idea gets communicated to the investors clearly. They will only invest in a business if they understand it quickly and believe in the purpose which it serves.

3. People might even go for taking debt to raise the initial capital. Debt involves
periodic interest payments, generating pressure on the founders to deliver regular profits. There are various problems with that as well. The bank might not provide the fund if they are not convinced of getting their money back. They would ask for collateral, which can then put our assets on the line. But, if our business is asset- heavy and there are clear signs of significant profits in the future, then taking debt is also a feasible option.

Handling finances is the most crucial aspect of running a business. The quality of revenues that we get and the investments that we make determines how future-proof we are. That is why it is advised to have proper financial planning from the very beginning so that we can reap the maximum benefits in the future.

Interview by- Anshul Chauhan

About Pratyush Dubey:

Pratyush Dubey is currently pursuing his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Indore. His fascination for mystery-thriller movies and love for writing poems keeps him busy working towards becoming a writer-director. With Five Owl Films, he started putting his skills to practice and eventually authored a novel- ‘The Mystery of Question.’ An introvert by nature, he likes exploring new topics and applying his creative side to academics as well. Apart from the business world, he has a keen interest in the social sector and aims to contribute significantly towards it throughout his life.