How Filmbaker is pioneering the video content industry with effective storytelling

“You know how everybody in college talks about starting a startup with friends? We made that happen,” says Tarun Lachhwani, Co-founder, Filmbaker.

From school to college and now to running a business together, it has been a 15-year long and exciting journey for Tarun Lachhwani, Gaurav Singh, Rakesh R, and Soman Surya Yadav, founders of Filmbaker, a video production company. The quartet used to make short films on social issues with impact while in college.

Recollecting those days, Tarun says, “With a new camera in hand with absolute zero knowledge in filmmaking, we took our first shot in our second year and eventually ended up making over 80 films through college and winning two National Awards. That’s what inspired us to begin Filmbaker, not the awards; but the passion for storytelling.”

Offering end-end production right from conceptualisation to production, Bangalore-based Filmbaker caters to every category of video-making like digital ads, corporate films, event films, 2D/3D animation, motion graphics, photography, etc. The startup has now successfully delivered over 1,000 stories for its 200+ clientele, some of which include Google, Kingfisher, TKM, Pantaloons, and Country Delight.

For brands who want to appeal with visual content, Tarun says, “With an in-house capability of producing video-related content, we have an answer to all the question marks that brands have to rise above the clutter of content and make an impact on potential customers visually. We also solve the biggest problem of making such quality content at a good speed.”

Business and revenue

As B-Tech graduates with a passion for filmmaking, the business journey for the founders has been both rewarding and challenging.“It took some time for us to figure out the managerial part of being entrepreneurs. It was learning at every step of the journey,” admits Tarun.

He adds, “Consumption is at an all-time high when it comes to content. The challenge for us now is fast delivery. You make videos, they are consumed the same day and forgotten the next day. So we need to make videos that stand out and reach the right audience at the same time.”

Brands today are investing in video content production more than ever. “Video content drives amazing ROI plus a lot more engagement because people love watching videos. The best part about operating such a business in India is that new people are joining the world of the internet every day. So, there is a huge market for brands,” Tarun says.

Set up in 2017, Filmbaker clocked a revenue of Rs 2 crore in FY 2020-21, 25 percent higher than the previous year. Tarun says, “While there are a lot of startups in the video-production segment, very few focus on effective storytelling, and that is where we stand out.”

To operate in a fast-paced segment such as videos, the co-founder says that the huge back-end team at Filmbaker keeps a constant watch on the latest updates and trending videos.

Truly Indian

There was a ‘Make in India’ wave when Filmbaker was launched. “Although we always wanted to be in the global market, we wanted our Indian identity to take centre stage. Flimbaker.in creates that kind of image for us,” Gaurav shares.

“The website also adds to the business advantages. With a website, we were able to showcase the kind of work we do. It gives us an immediate conversion rate.

Gaurav believes that the online presence of any brand helps showcase its products, services and build trust in their consumers while enabling them to reach out with just a click. “Hence, we created our online presence from day 1. It has helped us grow much faster,” he says.

The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a platform for businesses across India to get the website registered with a .in or .bharat domain. It has a cost advantage over a .com domain and is ideal for businesses looking to start the online journey. Organisations across scale and sizes can avail a .in domain in 22 languages with the help of NIXI.

“With a website you are not restricted to a limited audience but have access to the global market. I would say a website with social media is the best way forward in the current market,” Gaurav says.

He adds, “Even during the pandemic, our online presence ensured the addition of new clients which in turn helped us sail through the period.”

Like most businesses in India, Gaurav too dreams of making it big in the global landscape. However, he says, “We want to go across the nation and have our offices in different cities to make business easier for the country that we are operating in. We want to expand, but always desire to be known as an Indian company that makes world-class content.”

The ‘Shaping India Inc's Online Growth’ series chronicles the journeys of startups and SMEs in India and how creating an online presence on the .in or .Bharat domain powered their success stories.