Do Less Better.

When I was thinking about themes to write about as a year ending note, I saw 'Do Less Better' & it suddenly resonated with me. For us at guch, this year has certainly been about doing less and doing better - we have been able to drive better profits by doing less. Our team size has shrunk by a third, our revenues are higher than the previous year and we have achieved this by doing less work.

How did we do this?

We focused only on one segment of customers - we went after large new economy businesses - mainly Unicorns & other large tech enterprises. Some exceptions were our friends who wanted our help. The main reason we did this is because large organisations have continuous needs for video content. This also ensures we get paid for sure, although sometimes the payments delays can be frustrating. But setting the right expectations, asking for upfront payments can ensure a healthy collections cycle.

Some folks who we partnered with in 2021 below.

We strengthened our guch Pro Network (our network of freelance professionals) - We had to pause some of our product efforts in 2021. And while attempting to build a product, we discovered the marketplace model. And this has been a true win for us. We became a leaner full time team with a large marketplace of the best video professionals. Highly vetted by us & with a lot of people who were full time with us in the past & a lot of people with whom we had worked previously, we were able to launch programmes like 'Shoot anywhere in the world' at a fixed cost, etc. So, if you think you are among the top 10% of video professionals, do reach out to us on [email protected]

Here is what some of the guch Pros think of us!

We intentionally said 'No' to a lot of projects that required us to brainstorm ideas for brands. Instead we focussed only on execution - video production. Meant we would NOT come up with ideas or write scripts. Instead, we'd do a damn good job of producing the video.

What will we do in 2022?

Exactly what we did in 2021. Period.

• Work with large customers who will have continuous needs for video.
• Scale our guch professional network to meet this need. In 2021, people searched “how to start a business” more than they searched “how to get a job.” - Great time for us to build the best marketplace of the best video talent who will get to work on their own terms.

How has life been?

The above image is a representation of how I have been constantly badgered by my kids to shut down my computer and stop taking calls all the time. Spending 100% of my time with family has been truly satisfying in 2021. I also got some time to explore the world of web 3, NFTs and social tokens.

Personally, I moved out of the city & now live outskirts of Bangalore. I met the team only once this year. The comfort of doing all my meetings remote & spending 100% of my time with my parents, wife and kids has been very enjoyable. Let's see how this will fare in 2022.

A big Thank You to my incredible team members (most of them now have spent more than 4 years with us), partners, friends, customers & family for all the support & love in 2021.

Here's wishing everyone a fantastic 2022!