Best Startup
Innobella Media, founded by Paul Freeman-Powell, provides video production services to small and medium businesses and charities, specialising in promotional videos, events and live streaming.
Tell us about yourself?
Interest in photography and video runs in the family; from my grandfather who, whilst struggling to capture good ciné film videos indoors in low light in the early 1960s, ended up inventing the world’s first floodlight! He passed this love to my Dad who (alongside Chemistry) taught video production so I grew up surrounded by broadcast-grade video equipment which he used to bring home in the summer holidays so we’d set up blue screens in the garden and chroma-key ourselves into my sister’s Sylvanian houses right from an early age.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Buy more shares in Tesla! 😉 Seriously though, it’s been a bizarre couple of years but one that for those in the video production and event/live streaming space has seen huge growth – driven in part by a hugely increased awareness amongst the general public of the possibilities it brings about.
We’re now seeing more and more organisations looking to keep either live streaming or event video recording in place to offer a sort of “hybrid event” whereby people can choose to attend either in-person, online – or both! I wouldn’t ever want to compete against people meeting up in real life, because nothing comes close, but at the same time online events (whether live or pre-recorded) give rise to a huge extra level of flexibility for all involved, and can save money and carbon footprint too – both of which are super important.
Just last week, we were at the Kia Oval in London covering a two-day event with delegates from all over the UK which is being made available as an “online conference” as well via the organisation’s private online portal which not only means those who attended can watch again if they found a particular talk really useful or valuable, but the potential audience of the event is increased to practically unlimited.
What problem does your business solve?
When some – or all – people can’t attend an event in-person whether that’s down to size of the venue, COVID restrictions or the fact that they’re the other side of the world… we can bring that event to anyone, online.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I’ve always enjoyed both photography and videography because of the mix of science and art it provides; you might think of photography as purely an art form but it’s also hugely technical as well.
So for a creative type like me who’s also a self-confessed geek, it’s a match made in heaven. With a background in events (both on stage and as part of a video crew) it was a natural progression when lockdowns kicked in to move even more into the live streaming space.
It wasn’t all familiar territory though; for a period of time the only events that were really taking place (apart from several well-publicised parties!) were funerals and during the first half of 2021 particularly we were live streaming several funeral services a week, at reduced rates to reflect the sensitive and charitable nature of the work, from churches all over the North West.
If you’d told me 2 years ago I’d be leading a team doing this, I would have thought you were mad but it was actually a really lovely thing to be able to help so many families in their time of need and sorrow, especially with sons and daughters trapped on the other side of the world – and it was hugely heart-warming to receive some really positive feedback and thanks afterwards.
What is your magic sauce?
Every business likes to say how different they are from everyone else, or how they’re the best – but I prefer a different and slightly more humble approach.
I’m not interested in claiming to be “world beating” or the “best in Europe” – my focus is closer to home in that I’ll work with every client to make sure we do the very best we can for them, to delight them and hopefully top their expectations – whatever budget they have to work within. This is fuelled by a genuine love for what we do – I think that’s something that can’t be taught on a training course or even with experience (although both are good).
When you work with me or my company, you know that I’m probably even more excited by the project than you are and it’s that – not money or plaudits – that drives me to produce the best results possible.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
The business has seen phenomenal growth over the last 2 years and as we come out of the pandemic I can see huge potential for new areas of growth and continued sources of work and revenue for years to come.
However, I like to keep the business small and friendly so that clients have a really personal service.
I love the story of the lowly fisherman who’s approached by a wealthy investor who chastises him for catching only enough fish to feed his family and relaxing the rest of the time – suggesting he catch extra fish to sell, eventually earning enough to by a second, third, fourth boat turning into a big fleet over the next 10-15 years after which he can sell his conglomerate for millions and… relax – which he’s already doing!
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The biggest challenge was the first COVID lockdown when everything stopped so there was nothing to film, we weren’t allowed to film anything, and I had to stay at home homeschooling! Fortunately, although it was a tough time the business survived that period and was in a strong position for the next time lockdown came around when different policies meant we were able to pivot into helping bereaved families by live streaming funeral services to them.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
If you want to reach more eyes – whether that’s for your business, product, venue, space or event – via engaging video then we’d love to hear from you. You can follow us on all the social networks or get in touch via our website.
