Founders of Our Future, a media company for young entrepreneurs, share how they grew their short video business on TikTok, generated revenue, and sold it to Morning Brew. They discuss motivations for success, starting a podcast, moving to Austin, creating successful ads, using social media for revenue generation, crafting compelling narratives, and capturing attention with provocative content.
The success of Our Future's short-form videos was driven by their compelling storytelling approach, incorporating pop culture references, and featuring notable figures like Elon Musk.
Our Future capitalized on the popularity of podcasts by creating an agency specializing in short-form video clips, using storytelling and leveraging big names to attract clients and monetize their services.
The founders' decision to move to Austin, Texas allowed them to thrive in a tight-knit tech community, build relationships easily, and find success by adding services to their business.
Deep dives
The Rise of Our Future: A TikTok Success Story
Michael Sikand and Simran Sandu started a business called our future, which is a series of short-form videos about business people and businesses. The format quickly gained popularity, especially within the tech community. Their success skyrocketed when they sold their business to Morning Brew. Despite the excitement, both founders remain hungry for more success and financial stability.
The Power of Storytelling in Short-Form Videos
One of the key aspects that contributed to the success of our future's short-form videos was their ability to tell captivating stories. By using compelling hooks, incorporating elements of pop culture, and highlighting the accomplishments of notable figures like Elon Musk, they were able to attract millions of views and engage their target audience. Their unique storytelling approach helped them differentiate their content in a crowded media landscape.
The Evolution and Monetization of our future
The success of our future led to the creation of an agency that specializes in creating short-form video clips for podcasts. The agency gained traction thanks to its affiliation with 'My First Million,' a popular podcast. With a focus on storytelling, leveraging pop culture, and highlighting big names, the agency quickly attracted clients and monetized their services. Their timing, unique approach, and ability to adapt to changing industry needs propelled their growth and solidified their position in the market.
The Move to Austin
The speakers moved from Indianapolis and Michigan to Austin, Texas. They chose Austin because it was a rising tide, allowing them to be big fish in a small pond. They found it easy to meet people, especially at tech events. Austin provided a tight-knit friendship circle and was more conducive to building relationships compared to the transient nature of San Francisco.
The Transition to a Services Business
The speakers leveraged their expertise in creating short-form video content and decided to add a service layer to their business. They found that services had become popular in the Twitter bubble and discovered that big corporations were ideal clients as they were less nitpicky and willing to pay more. While it was challenging to find well-capitalized companies using short-form content, they focused on working with enterprise clients and leveraging their network to build trust. They acknowledged the difficulty of running a marketing agency, but saw services as a higher-quality source of revenue compared to advertisements.
They used TikTok to promote their podcast, but podcasting is painful. There’s no discovery. It’s hard to grow. And there’s little audience feedback. Meanwhile, their short videos took off. This is the story of how the Our Future creators grew their short video business, generated revenue and sold it to Morning Brew.
Michael Sikand and Simran Sandhu are the founders of Our Future, a media company dedicated to inspiring young entrepreneurs. Michael, with a background in finance and a passion for storytelling, has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic vision. Simran, bringing expertise in digital media and content creation, has been instrumental in driving the brand’s innovative approach and expansive growth.
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