Q & A Session
Trigger for WhiteBalance
After having worked over 10 years for two major TV News companies, some amount of stagnation had kicked in. Being a Creative Director for a Network in my early thirty’s, meant I hardly had much more to climb if I stayed put. My appetite to create a hub for constantly evolving good work was the beginning of WhiteBalance.
Initial years
It was a slow start moving from a closed society (a news network) to going out and hunting for creative clients who found news effective but too straight jacketed for creative expression. But in time, our perseverance paid off, doors started opening and work started coming in. We started off by doing small ticket projects. Whilst, there was no splash, a steady growth led to a solid foundation as we grew.
Where are we today
We are sitting at the cusp of an exciting future. WhiteBalance has the distinct advantage of being in the market for 8 years now and being recognized as the production house that delivers high quality work consistently with both, our national and International artists. Videos and animation is the future and we are perfectly poised to ride this wave. We are now ripe to partner and align ourselves to bigger clients globally.
The Team
WhiteBalance has no employee culture. Each team member is seen and respected more as an artist (which i believe anyone who creates something is) and less as an employee. This has ensured creative freedom where each day people put in their best as artists always do. We have a good vision oriented kick ass bunch of team leads who have been with the company since the beginning.
Whats helping sustain
Our success has been linked to a great quality check along with an artistic twang on what we deliver and thus a huge repository of repeat clients. We now enjoy being in a position to influence the client rather than get dictated by them. The one thing I would have done differently, is to have spent more time working on our IP’s that will soon be in the market.
Whats keeping me awake
This is the digital age with a high bandwidth thats only getting higher… Every day videos are being consumed by millions across the globe. You could be an International hit from a hole in the wall . How can one sleep with this sheer excitement of being able to express yourself to such a huge audience. I constantly keep drilling this goal into the team. I wish to create a legacy and not something that folds up if I am not there. We have just done a quarter mile, the real marathon is round the corner.
Why the name WhiteBalance
White balance is a feature many cameras use to accurately balance colour. Therefore, when the white balance is off, photos and recordings may appear to have a certain discolourization. In many ways that is our philosophy as well, great work with precision and a stringent quality control.
Mantras for Young Entrepreneurs
Ensure you have the money for at least 3 years especially if you are bootstrapped. Avoid splurging. Be ready to face hard times. Survive that. And patience is the name of the game. The youth gets bored or impatient too soon so make sure you have a long term goal to continually remind you as to why and how you plan to get to your targets.
Work habits
I reach office one hour before the team comes. This quiet, “me time” is for reflection and introspection. Its pure vision time and continuously looking into the future and the possibilities that it holds. I spend lot of time on the floor and keep interacting with the team. I listen to the team members as one would in a family and adapt myself accordingly. I understand as the team grows it will become harder to interact with each one of them, so I have enjoyed developing the second line of leadership in the organization to do the same. This development includes constantly sharing your vision for the future. They must buy into the same story to move in unison in a single minded direction. Most importantly, I spend time in hiring the right artist for the job, specially in leadership positions.
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