Shyam Muthugovinda: A Serial Entrepreneur Writing Success Stories With His Constant Learning Attitude
Shyam Muthugovindan
Founder
What inspired you to start your entre preneurial journey in the VFX industry, and what drives you today?
Growing up in a business family, the aspiration to be an entrepreneur was imbibed within me right from my childhood. My father started a construction company from scratch and took it to good heights. Seeing him grow through hard work inspired me more into the same. So, I completed my Civil Engineering and Master’s and worked with Decathlon Sports India before joining my father in his construction company. Even though we were still growing with good potential in the field, I have always had a mind to put some of my eggs in other baskets. That is when I was introduced to the VFX industry by my fellow founder Radhakrishnan. It was a tedious and year long discovery phase for me in this field to get to know about it before entering. It is still a long journey ahead for us in this industry. As a company, we will be working towards bringing the latest technology available to the domestic market, which will increase the quality of the output and provide huge savings in production costs.
How would you define RPM VFX Studios and its position in the market? Also, how does your company differentiate itself from the competition?
I Perceive RPM VFX Studios as a versatile service provider of VFX allied metrics in domestic and inter
national markets. Ever since we budded as a small studio in Chennai in 2018, we have achieved fairly good growth accumulating business opportunities from international and domestic markets. We strive, achieve, and constantly upgrade ourselves in terms of quality, timely delivery, and cost-efficiency to the customers. This field involves a lot of creative work, and one of the most important aspects is understanding what the client wants and providing the same. We make sure that our clients feel us as one of their teams. These are the key qualities that make us unique.
You are a highly successful serial entrepreneur managing multiple organizations. What is your success mantra?
As a quick learner, I easily grow impatient with repetitive things. I have always been a keen follower of Warren Buffet’s saying: “Don’t keep all your eggs in a single basket”. Believe me; it is not an easy task. I have three failed startups, But I knew where to stop when the direction was wrong. Those were huge lessons for me. It taught me how to lead rather than to manage. The key for me to lead multiple companies in various industries is the trust I have in my peers and the system of management we follow. Post starting and successfully running a VFX studio, we are right now venturing into the luxury furnishings segment. We still have miles to go, but we do it one small but firm step at a time.
How do you plan to take on the competition in this populous industry?
We need a strong and versatile founding team to survive in this field. So we established a board with six members, including myself, who are experts not only in the VFX industry but also in finance and management. VFX is an artist driven industry, so we strive to have the best in field artists with us and also help them improve their skillset and quality. We have a unique talent acquisition process and training structure to do the same. We make sure that our business and technical core team are spread round the clock to provide uninterrupted support to customers even in different time zones.
Moreover, we constantly implement new technology and hardware to improve our production workflow. We are also planning to open overseas offices to build our brand identity in the overseas markets and move our work forces to smaller towns to improve employment
“Even though we were still growing with good potential in the field, I have always had a mind to put some of my eggs in other baskets
You are a highly successful serial entrepreneur managing multiple organizations. What is your success mantra?
As a quick learner, I easily grow impatient with repetitive things. I have always been a keen follower of Warren Buffet’s saying: “Don’t keep all your eggs in a single basket”. Believe me; it is not an easy task. I have three failed startups, But I knew where to stop when the direction was wrong. Those were huge lessons for me. It taught me how to lead rather than to manage. The key for me to lead multiple companies in various industries is the trust I have in my peers and the system of management we follow. Post starting and successfully running a VFX studio, we are right now venturing into the luxury furnishings segment. We still have miles to go, but we do it one small but firm step at a time.
How do you plan to take on the competition in this populous industry?
We need a strong and versatile founding team to survive in this field. So we established a board with six members, including myself, who are experts not only in the VFX industry but also in finance and management. VFX is an artist driven industry, so we strive to have the best in field artists with us and also help them improve their skillset and quality. We have a unique talent acquisition process and training structure to do the same. We make sure that our business and technical core team are spread round the clock to provide uninterrupted support to customers even in different time zones.
Moreover, we constantly implement new technology and hardware to improve our production workflow. We are also planning to open overseas offices to build our brand identity in the overseas markets and move our work forces to smaller towns to improve employment
opportunities. We have started to provide VFX-related inputs in the domestic market, drastically reducing the production cost right from the filming stage. A big shout out to my fellow founding members Salai Pranesh Mahizhan (Ex. Director), Dharmaraj Murugesan (Finance Director), Prem Kumar (CEO), Santha Kumar (COO), Radhakrishnan (Production Head), and Nihath Ahmed (General Manager/Coordinator), who put this company in the place we are right now.
How has your response been to the challenges posed by the Covid-affected market and the need for new strategies?
Even though the entire entertainment industry was hit very hard during these COVID times, forcing many to shut doors, we ensured that we had our foot firmly down and survived the same. It is not easy for a startup to survive when the entire industry is paused. As this is a data-sensitive industry, Work from Home was never an option. We made sure our employees were not sufferers, which helped us bounce back with much more force when the market reopened. We also ensured all our employees were vaccinated not to disrupt our timely delivery motto. We have contingency plans in place for providing intact services even if another COVID-related lockdown happens.
As we advance, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what opportunities do you foresee as a leader?
The Entertainment industry is going to grow exponentially. With much more reachability provided by streaming platforms, we see a lot of potential building up. We are also preparing for the big boom anticipated in the Augmented and Virtual Reality fields. Who knows, 360-degree VRMovies might even be a mainstream format within ten years. I am excited to see what the future holds and our part in it.
Shyam Muthugovindan, Founder, RPM VFX Studios
Shyam hails from Theni, a small town near Madurai, Tamilnadu. An Engineer by academics and Businessman by passion, he is an introvert, and talking business with people excites him. His vision is to constantly better himself and his family both Personal and Official.
Hobbies:Shyam says, “My favorite hobby would be Cooking. A self made Sunday lunch with my family is the most satis fying thing”. Inspired by his father’s passion for farming, Shyam also loves farming. He often accompanies his father and also takes his children to their farm.
Favorite Cuisine:Continental and Indian
Favorite Book:Ikigai
Favorite Travel Destination: Maldives
How has your response been to the challenges posed by the Covid-affected market and the need for new strategies?
Even though the entire entertainment industry was hit very hard during these COVID times, forcing many to shut doors, we ensured that we had our foot firmly down and survived the same. It is not easy for a startup to survive when the entire industry is paused. As this is a data-sensitive industry, Work from Home was never an option. We made sure our employees were not sufferers, which helped us bounce back with much more force when the market reopened. We also ensured all our employees were vaccinated not to disrupt our timely delivery motto. We have contingency plans in place for providing intact services even if another COVID-related lockdown happens.
As we advance, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what opportunities do you foresee as a leader?
The Entertainment industry is going to grow exponentially. With much more reachability provided by streaming platforms, we see a lot of potential building up. We are also preparing for the big boom anticipated in the Augmented and Virtual Reality fields. Who knows, 360-degree VRMovies might even be a mainstream format within ten years. I am excited to see what the future holds and our part in it.
Shyam Muthugovindan, Founder, RPM VFX Studios
Shyam hails from Theni, a small town near Madurai, Tamilnadu. An Engineer by academics and Businessman by passion, he is an introvert, and talking business with people excites him. His vision is to constantly better himself and his family both Personal and Official.
Hobbies:Shyam says, “My favorite hobby would be Cooking. A self made Sunday lunch with my family is the most satis fying thing”. Inspired by his father’s passion for farming, Shyam also loves farming. He often accompanies his father and also takes his children to their farm.
Favorite Cuisine:Continental and Indian
Favorite Book:Ikigai
Favorite Travel Destination: Maldives