Drawing money from creative content
Tan Guan Sheng hopes to turn his video production house into a media group
MO ST high scho o l leavers are pro bably unsure o f themselves and co nfused as to which career path to take. Tan Guan Sheng, ho wever, already had a very clear idea abo ut what he wanted to do very early o n.
He had a burning passio n fo r video graphy, and his ultimate go al was to start his o wn co mpany. It’s hard to imagine ho w these two can co me to gether co hesively, yet Tan managed to successfully turn his passio n into a mo ney-making venture.
He embarked o n his jo urney by learning all he co uld abo ut business and finance. He o btained a degree in banking and finance fro m Mo nash University Melbo urne, Australia.
Kno wn as Guany Guan amo ng his so cial circle, the 25-year-o ld is no w chief executive o fficer o f GGTV Pro ductio ns, a pro ductio n ho use specialising in creative co ntent develo pment.
“Taking up a degree majo ring in numbers really helped me to prep myself with the fundamentals o f setting up and managing a co mpany,” says Tan.
He also to o k advantage o f po ssible o ppo rtunities alo ng the way which helped take him to where he is to day.
While o thers were busy interning fo r banks in 201 2, he cho se to intern with Yo utube perso nalities Jin Lim and Reuban Kang o f Jinnybo y TV instead; the latter was also a childho o d friend.
“They became my mento rs and guided me o n video graphy. They were the o nes who enco uraged me and gave me the co nfidence to start my o wn Yo utube channel,” he says.
He started creating video lo gs o f himself, talking abo ut rando m to pics and po sting these o nto his o wn guanyguanTV Yo utube channel.
Alo ng the way, Tan met his wo rking partner Bryan Yap, who was also his university mate.
In 201 3, he established GGTV Pro ductio ns with Yap using limited equipment bo rro wed fro m friends.
“We fo cused o n the Yo utube channel first by co ming o ut with mo re co ntent and then branched o ut into mo re pro ductio n wo rk.
“To get o ur po rtfo lio s o ut, we o ffered ro ck bo tto m prices that o nly co vered o ur co st o verheads.
“Priced at RM2,000 per video , we managed to engage abo ut 1 5 clients thro ugho ut 201 4,” he says.
After graduating at the end o f 201 4, the duo co ncentrated o n GGTV Pro ductio ns and finally invested in a pro per space and equipment.
“We were very fo rtunate to rent a small ro o m within my friend’s o ffice fo r a very lo w price. Then we splurged abo ut RM35,000 o n cameras and lenses,” he says o f the 300sq ft space which had just eno ugh ro o m fo r two tables.
Calling themselves creative co ntent creato rs, they wo rked clo sely with a few digital agencies to pro - duce video s fo r their clients.
“O ur clients are mo stly startup co mpanies which were mo re daring in terms o f trying o ut new ideas and co ncepts; this meant there was mo re flexibility in co ntent develo pment fo r us,” Guan explains, adding that their wo rk ranged fro m animated video s to sho rt films acro ss vario us industries.
The team expanded fast as students began interning fo r the pro - ductio n ho use.
Lero y Cho o ng jo ined GGTV as the directo r o f pho to graphy in 201 6.
“The team was gro wing and the space we had in Dataran Prima co uldn’t acco mmo date us anymo re – we needed a larger space,” he says.
In February this year, GGTV Pro ductio ns mo ved to a 1 ,600sq ft o ffice at O val Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
“We have a co nsistent intake o f interns fro m co lleges. As they fo rm part o f o ur target audience, they are very impo rtant to us as they help us understand the needs o f that age gro up better.
“Q uite o ften, we get relevant ideas whenever we bo unce a co ncept o r an idea o ff them during brainsto rming sessio ns,” Tan says.
As the co mpany grew, so did the co st, and in this instance, Tan’s finance backgro und pro ved useful.
“It definitely helped me manage o ne o f the biggest challenges in starting up a co mpany – cash flo w.
“Expenses can go up to RM30,000 a mo nth. O ur quarter milesto ne target was set at RM300,000 in revenue,” he says, adding that they are do ing fine so far.
Speaking o f the Yo utube scene in Malaysia, he no tes that the digital platfo rm is thriving.
“As such, it needs a regular injectio n o f fresh ideas fo r visual co ntent to stay relevant and pro gressive.
“I truly ho pe that there wo uld be mo re new talents, especially in the new generatio n, to spark creative co ntent and repo sitio n the creative industry as a significant platfo rm fo r brands to co me up with fresh ideas.
“To tho se yo ung peo ple who are lo o king to jo in this industry, sharpen yo ur skills whenever yo u can; having a go o d mento r go es a lo ng way,” he adds.
While mo st teenagers wind do wn and relax during the weekends, Tan filled up his free time with learning o ppo rtunities.
“In 201 2, I started vo lunteering with a gro up o f pro fessio nals to sho o t wedding events fo r abo ut a year just so I co uld equip myself with mo re video sho o ting skills.
“My mo ther was so surprised when I was ho me o ne weekend because there were no events to sho o t,” he laughs.
Tan’s 1 0-year plan is to create a media empire o f different co mpanies specialising in their o wn niches under o ne big gro up.
In additio n to GGTV Pro ductio ns, Tan is also the chief executive o fficer o f Ittify Sdn Bhd, a creative so cial media marketing platfo rm wo rking with bo th brands and influencers to develo p quality co ntent.
“No w we have GGTV do ing video pro ductio n and Ittify fo r so cial media, so we will mo ve fo rward fro m there.
“With all under o ne ro o f, it will be so much easier to pro vide value-added services to clients, and we get to share reso urces and manpo wer,” he co ncludes.