29/11/2025
2018: Started editing videos in my bedroom. ₹35,000 laptop from Nehru Place. Pirated Premiere Pro (sorry, Adobe, bought the subscription in 2022). First client paid me ₹1,500 for 8 hours of work. My engineering friends were making ₹50K/month in Infosys. I was making ₹12K on a good month. Family WhatsApp group was... concerned.
2019: Landed my first "real" client. A local restaurant in Bangalore. ₹8,000/month retainer. Told everyone I "run a media company" now. They ghosted me after editing 6 videos. Back to cold messaging on Instagram. Every DM: "Bhaiya budget nahi hai, free mein kar doge?" Questioned everything.
2020: Lockdown hit. Every wedding cancelled. Corporate shoots? Zero. Pivoted to social media content. Cold messaged 1,200+ D2C brands. Most replied "we'll let you know" (they never did). 47 said "India mein itna paisa kaun deta hai editing ke liye?" 3 said yes. One of them became a ₹40K/month client. That money fed me for 4 months.
2021: Hired my first editor. Paid him ₹25K. I was taking home ₹18K. Couldn't tell my parents I was barely surviving. Took on freelance gigs at night, website copy, thumbnail designs, anything. Told relatives "business is growing" at family functions. It wasn't. But you can't look weak in front of relatives, right?
Now in 2025 : We're here. 12-person team across 3 cities. Working with brands I used to stalk on Instagram. Revenue stable. Growing.
But here's what nobody posts: I still negotiate rates like I'm scared they'll say no. I still remember every client who made me feel small. I still panic about GST filing. Success doesn't erase the struggle it just proves you survived it.
