How I Started $2K/Month Video Production Services Marketplace
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
Hello, I am Nikhilesh Tayal.
I have been passionate about videos since my childhood and always wanted to combine Video creation, technology, and entrepreneurship.
This led me to start Vidsaga - A global video production platform.
The idea is to create a platform like Upwork/Fiverr dedicatedly to video production services that can help simplify video creation to startups and SMEs across the world.
Started as a blog to feature prominent video creators, Vidsaga is making about $2,000 per month in bootstrap mode with clients from 10+ countries (USA, India, UK, Australia, Newzealand, Singapore, UAE, Kuwait, Canada, and Indonesia).
We are also building a Global Marketers Community space that has 52,000+ members (Marketers, Entrepreneurs, Digital Marketers, Management students, etc.)
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
Vidsaga is my second startup. The first startup was CvBhejo.com, a mobile-based recruitment platform for Indian Tier 2 and 3 cities. We raised investment from The Morpheus (Y Combinator equivalent for India).
We had 105 paying clients with 60,000+ job seekers registered with the platform. Though we could monetize the platform, the micro organizations from small cities had very little paying will for recruitment.
After shutting down my first startup, I was dejected (a startup to which I gave my everything and the only purpose of my life for 2.5+ years, suddenly vanished), angry (I thought I gave up too early, I could have persisted for some time more) but more than anything else, clueless – what to do next?
Going back to a typical job was not an option anymore and I wanted to start something again but did not know what.
I was doing theater from my school days and am passionate about it, so I started teaching theatre in my hometown - Udaipur. The team got formed and we did a couple of professional plays.
With that team, I made a short film. The short film we made was on almost zero budget.
The film was not that great but what I realized was that filmmaking is very much like an entrepreneurial activity.
We have to think of a unique product (story), assemble a team, work with limited resources, market it, etc.
So to showcase the struggles of other filmmakers and give them their due recognition, I started a blog to feature prominent video creators. In hindsight, you can say it was “Starter Story for Filmmakers”.
In the next 6 months, I interviewed some 200+ upcoming video creators and unknowingly built the supply side of the platform.
While talking to these creators, I realized that they all are not getting enough work opportunities through existing mediums.
On the other hand, many of my startup friends were looking for professional video producers.
This led to my entrepreneurial bug starting popping out again and I saw a problem that could be solved by creating a marketplace where video makers can be connected to companies.
When I started there were some funded startups in the USA and UK but no one exists now. The problem is that video creation is not like any other freelance service so just creating “Upwork/ Fiverr for Videos” would not work.
Traditionally, media and ad agencies are taking care of video production for organizations. So if we have to create an online platform, we have to replicate the media agency model online rather than replicating generic marketplaces.
Currently, the similar player in this space is 90seconds.com.
Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.
Once I identified this gap and proposed a solution to fill it, I had to validate it quickly.
The beauty of starting the business is that it forces you to learn new things outside your comfort area and at a fast pace.
So with the help of a freelance engineer, we started with a very simple platform. It did not have all the marketplace features which we currently have.
It was a normal WordPress website with a page to submit video requirements and a section for video creators to showcase their portfolios.
Describe the process of launching the business.
When we launched, we were like a small shop in this big Internet world with no money for marketing/ promotion.
So, we decided to do marketing that demanded less money but more effort and knowledge.
We started creating quality content around video creation and entrepreneurship.
Few of the posts touched other entrepreneurs. They realized that this company has created an offering tailor-made for them and requirements started pouring in.
They also started referring to other startups and within just 5 months we got our first 100 clients.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
Initially, we acquired clients through content and a couple of PR activities only.
Now we do email marketing and run Google Ads.
We also do partnerships with:
- Digital Marketing agencies like Small Wave Marketing, USA, Blackduck, Canada, etc
- Coworking spaces like WeWork, Singapore
- Startups Advisors like Global Scaleup, Singapore
Now we are also targeting other B2B services providers to partner for specific video types. For example:
- Mobile App development companies for App demo videos
- Recruitment agencies for Employee story videos and Recruitment videos.
I must confess that though I like video creation very much, I am more of a marketer than a video creator.
Because of this trait, I looked at this market differently and from organizations’ perspectives that other video creators and agencies are not able to see.
So instead of making it a complete online marketplace or a complete offline agency approach, we adopted a hybrid model of “Online Marketplace + Agency Service”.
This solution helped us solve problems for startups and SMEs effectively.
Also, a feature that is unique to us is our “Milestone-based Payment Terms” where instead of paying 50% advance and 50% before delivery, clients have to just pay 10% to get started.
With this payment term, clients across the world can at least are not hesitant in trying the service.
Also, video creators usually take between 2 and 3 weeks to create a video. We have standardized the time with 7 days delivery with our unique multitasking approach
I guess these were the things that worked and helped us in getting and retaining clients.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
We are currently helping global startups and SMEs from 10+ countries (USA, India, UK, Australia, Newzealand, Canada, UAE, Kuwait, Singapore, Indonesia, and other middle east countries) with their video production.
1250+ organizations have used the platform.
At the same time, we are building a first of its kind “Global Marketers Community”.
The main challenge is to bring video requirements across the globe and that's the reason for building this community. This is our long-term strategy to generate video requirements through references.
We aim to make video production affordable for global startups and SMEs.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
I learned how to learn new things quickly and from everybody and anybody.
The beauty of starting the business is that it forces you to learn new things outside your comfort area and at a fast pace.
So I guess how to learn and whom to learn are very important skills for an entrepreneur to master.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Books that come to my mind immediately are:
- Bhagwat Geeta - Tells you the purpose of human life and keeps you detached from your creation.
- Tribes by Seth Godin - Role of communities in society and marketing
- Social Psychology by Robert A Baron - how humans think and function.
- Mahatma Gandhi: The eternal management guru by Dr. Pratik P Surana - How Gandhi’s principles are relevant in business
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss - To learn the art of negotiation.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting?
In entrepreneurship, the product is the entrepreneur. The journey for an entrepreneur is more personal than professional.
So, just relax and let the journey transform you into a better person. If lucky you will also create something useful/ meaningful in the process.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Yes, we are hiring for a few positions. You can check the details here.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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