Sourav Mondal: A Storyteller Leaving Behind An Unmatched
Sourav Mandal
Founder & CEO
The growth story of Ssoftoons is also the story of Sourav Mondal, who founded the company in 2001 with courage, passion, and experience as his investment. Sourav holds several diplomas in Computer Programming &Structured System Analysis and Business development from ICS, TULEC & IGNOU. He also worked as an independent programmer and a Senior System Analyst & Programmer before starting his animation venture. CEO Insights strives to unfold this amazing anecdote through an exclusive interview with Sourav.
What inspired you to start your entre preneurial journey in the Media and Entertainment industry. Also, after two decades, what drives you today?
When I was in standard VIII, I read a cover story on Walt Disney. I came to know how he used to create frame by frame animations. That inspired me a lot as I was/am an animation lover. Being not an artist, I started nourishing my dreams under my inner heart. When I felt that software could overcome my drawbacks, I drove into my passion and started my new company. There was no such cartoon animation company in West Bengal to work with non artist dreamers. The result
was we gifted its own first Animation Serial to Bangla.
Passion for storytelling these words can define me the most. Our motto is: ‘All will be entertained and will recall the values of life from our products'. Already we are catering to three generations by a single product. We want to create some footprints and set the framework wherein future generations can follow us as we once followed Disney. I might have to leave one day, but our organization and our work will stay alive forever.
How would you define Ssoftoons and its position in the market? Also, how does your company differentiate itself from the competition?
Ssoftoons is a garden where all flowers are animated stories and all fragrances are morals of life. We are different as our story patterns are different. We value our customers' time & money and, above all, their peace of mind and innocent smiles. We don't bother about competition. Suppose we drive the car (career) on a highway (ocean of stories) at 80km/hour. What matters if someone overtakes you with a 160km/hour speed? Do you know the line of his selected toll gate is the shortest or the longest? We know our destination, and we will reach there.
You are a highly experienced & passionate entrepreneur who has created an impact among the audience. What is your success mantra?
The challenges of our industry largely revolve around changes in software, updated features, and highly efficient hardware. Hence, you have to be always ready to cope with the changes as it will help improve your quality and reduce production time in the longer term. But the main change in audience behavior we realized is that people are now spending shorter times for themselves. So the latest challenge is to tell the story as crispy as possible.
Let people laugh. It is easy to convert laughs and smiles. Be honest with yourself and work hard as you can This is the 'Success Mantra' of me and my Ssoftoons’ team.
You started the company from scratch. How would you define the journey so far?
I started my company with passion in my pocket and career as an investment. I made several mistakes that gave me experiences and threw the light on the right roads. I walked, and several people cheated me, which made me realize that I have to reduce the chance factors. Several
Passion for storytelling these words can define me the most. Our motto is: ‘All will be entertained and will recall the values of life from our products'. Already we are catering to three generations by a single product. We want to create some footprints and set the framework wherein future generations can follow us as we once followed Disney. I might have to leave one day, but our organization and our work will stay alive forever.
How would you define Ssoftoons and its position in the market? Also, how does your company differentiate itself from the competition?
Ssoftoons is a garden where all flowers are animated stories and all fragrances are morals of life. We are different as our story patterns are different. We value our customers' time & money and, above all, their peace of mind and innocent smiles. We don't bother about competition. Suppose we drive the car (career) on a highway (ocean of stories) at 80km/hour. What matters if someone overtakes you with a 160km/hour speed? Do you know the line of his selected toll gate is the shortest or the longest? We know our destination, and we will reach there.
You are a highly experienced & passionate entrepreneur who has created an impact among the audience. What is your success mantra?
The challenges of our industry largely revolve around changes in software, updated features, and highly efficient hardware. Hence, you have to be always ready to cope with the changes as it will help improve your quality and reduce production time in the longer term. But the main change in audience behavior we realized is that people are now spending shorter times for themselves. So the latest challenge is to tell the story as crispy as possible.
Let people laugh. It is easy to convert laughs and smiles. Be honest with yourself and work hard as you can This is the 'Success Mantra' of me and my Ssoftoons’ team.
You started the company from scratch. How would you define the journey so far?
I started my company with passion in my pocket and career as an investment. I made several mistakes that gave me experiences and threw the light on the right roads. I walked, and several people cheated me, which made me realize that I have to reduce the chance factors. Several
speed breakers came to our road; we absorbed the shocks but never let our speed down. In really tough times, we felt that the Almighty was with us; other wise, we wouldn’t have survived. Only one thing we never compromised is our honesty and our ethics both for personal nature and business nature.
What did COVID-19 mean for Ssoftoons?
There were so many challenges during lockdown times. It was never like before, and there were no examples of tackling such a period. Everything from manpower to voice over and production was fragmented. On the other hand, our clients and viewers were also looking for more products. We were under tremendous pressure and started managing the situation in our own way. Some how, we managed to fulfill our delivery pipeline. A big thanks to technology and my dedicated team.
As we advance, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what opportunities do you foresee?
Technology is the single point answer. Since the beginning of human life, stories have been created, and storytelling depends upon the social structure and their mode of communication. It will be there until humans are distinct. So the mode and medium of 'Storytelling' will change but the 'Technology' will guide us to go forward.
Sourav Mondal, Founder & CEO, Ssoftoons
Sourav was born in 1974 as a son of Rabindranath Mondal and Krishna Mondal from Howrah Dasnagar. He inherited the values of life from his parents and the joint family. Storybooks were/are another main part of his life. He started his career as a Programmer in 1996 and took Animation as breathing support from 2000. He dreamt of Ssoftoons and Animation as his career and formed Ssoftoons in 2001 with Hansa Dangaich from his garage. Ssoftoons launched the first Bengali Animation Serial in 2001.
Hobbies:Football, Reading Story Books, Watching Movies, and Story Making
Favorite Cuisine:Any preparations of Mutton and Hilsa fish.
Favorite Book:Puranas and Indian Mytho.
Favorite Travel Destination:Any lonely Hill Stations.
Awards & Recognition:
•Best Animation Award from ATN Kolkata 2003),
•Recognition from the West Bengal Cultural Department,
•Four YouTube 'Gold'and Six YouTube 'Silver' Awards.
What did COVID-19 mean for Ssoftoons?
There were so many challenges during lockdown times. It was never like before, and there were no examples of tackling such a period. Everything from manpower to voice over and production was fragmented. On the other hand, our clients and viewers were also looking for more products. We were under tremendous pressure and started managing the situation in our own way. Some how, we managed to fulfill our delivery pipeline. A big thanks to technology and my dedicated team.
As we advance, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what opportunities do you foresee?
Technology is the single point answer. Since the beginning of human life, stories have been created, and storytelling depends upon the social structure and their mode of communication. It will be there until humans are distinct. So the mode and medium of 'Storytelling' will change but the 'Technology' will guide us to go forward.
Sourav Mondal, Founder & CEO, Ssoftoons
Sourav was born in 1974 as a son of Rabindranath Mondal and Krishna Mondal from Howrah Dasnagar. He inherited the values of life from his parents and the joint family. Storybooks were/are another main part of his life. He started his career as a Programmer in 1996 and took Animation as breathing support from 2000. He dreamt of Ssoftoons and Animation as his career and formed Ssoftoons in 2001 with Hansa Dangaich from his garage. Ssoftoons launched the first Bengali Animation Serial in 2001.
Hobbies:Football, Reading Story Books, Watching Movies, and Story Making
Favorite Cuisine:Any preparations of Mutton and Hilsa fish.
Favorite Book:Puranas and Indian Mytho.
Favorite Travel Destination:Any lonely Hill Stations.
Awards & Recognition:
•Best Animation Award from ATN Kolkata 2003),
•Recognition from the West Bengal Cultural Department,
•Four YouTube 'Gold'and Six YouTube 'Silver' Awards.