Mitesh Manuja - Treat Your Team With Respect and Reward Them for Their Work (Founder and CEO of Khaacheckpictures)


After completing my education I moved to Mumbai, I started out as a freelancer and after about a year and a half, I joined a corporate firm as a senior creative consultant but felt that the corporate culture was reducing my creative sparkle. Post this I started my own firm "Khaacheck Pictures".

The name "Khaacheck Pictures" is based on the sound that Canon 60D makes when we click a picture, which I couldn't afford back in college.


Tell us more about your background and your journey.

I have always been passionate about writing. I would click a picture and then write a story based on it. At the time I came to realize that I should make my passion of clicking and writing my profession and then in 2012 I pursued my international post-graduate diploma in photography and cinematography from the National Institute of Creative Communication in Bangalore.

That's when I understood that the visualization is based on the story.

One of my most appreciated projects was "Tripti", the story is based on the life of those lesser-known people whose lives are blessed during Durga pooja, This is where my journey began.


When and how did you get the clarity on what you wanted to do and how did you come up with this idea and go about executing it?

After completing my education I moved to Mumbai, I started out as a freelancer and after about a year and a half, I joined a corporate firm as a senior creative consultant but felt that the corporate culture was reducing my creative sparkle. Post this I started my own firm "Khaacheck Pictures".

The name "Khaacheck Pictures" is based on the sound that Canon 60D makes when we click a picture, which I couldn't afford back in college.

Today at Khaacheck Pictures we offer 360-degree services from teaching photography and cinematography to advertising campaigns.



What have been your biggest challenges as a Founder and CEO and what advice would you give to others to avoid them?


Being in a service-based industry it was strenuous to find clients who were willing to pay equivalent to the services requested by them. As far as advice goes my father always told me to treat my team with respect and reward them for their work.



What are your tips for first-time and aspiring entrepreneurs?

I think I would say listen to everyone but do what your heart says.



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

In case of a lack of funds, the very first step should be to identify the cause and the need for the funds. One can either take up a part-time job/freelance projects or look at crowdfunding or investors.



What is your typical day look like and how do you handle setbacks?

The most interesting part of this field is that there is no ‘typical day. One day I would be busy pitching ideas to clients and the other day I would be shooting in a different city.

But no matter what the days hold for me I ensure that I start my day with exercise. It keeps me energetic to face any challenge.

Setbacks and success go hand in hand. there will always be minor hiccups on the way up.. so I always keep myself calm and reflect back on how far I have come. The main thing is to remain positive and figure out what are the next steps rather than focus on what the setback itself is.


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Interviewed by - Ritika Malhotra

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