Archisman Misra is a photographer and cinematographer based in India. He has worked with some of the top agencies to create impactful campaigns for the biggest brands in the World. In 2016, he started his entrepreneurial journey with StudioBackdrops.com, to help his peers get access to world-class equipment delivered right to their doorstep. He also founded Culture Karkhana, a new-age content production house that would directly connect creators to brands. In an exclusive interview with Yesha Shah, the Founder & CEO of Studiobackdrops.com talks about the inception, journey, growth as well as future plans.
Q. Can you please let our readers know the inception story of Studiobackdrops.com?
Archisman Misra: While working as a photographer in the industry, I noticed that a lot of professional photography tools were not available in the Indian market. What was available was too expensive to buy and rental services behaved like exclusive clubs. This experience was shared by all my peers and I was driven to solve this problem. That’s how Studiobackdrops.com started, with the idea of providing the right products to the right audience at the right price point.
Q. What are your future plans for the organization?
AM: We are currently the largest omnichannel destination for photo & video in India, but our goal is to make SBDC the biggest brand name in Asia. In the coming year, we are going to launch multiple products across all verticals of photo, video and audio. We aim to form partnerships with the biggest brands from around the world and bring them to India. We are also planning to launch multiple programs to support photographers, videographers, and content creators.
Q. What makes your company unique?
AM: We are the first in the Imaging Industry to start directly with D2C instead of other more traditional channels. This enabled us to directly communicate with our customers, hear their complaints and solve them immediately. Most of our customer-facing employees have industry experience and can guide customers towards buying the right products for their requirements. This creates a sense of community and trust and that is something we cherish. We want every artist and creator out there to shine and create the best work they possibly can.
Q.What are your recent developments?
AM: We pride ourselves on being the global market leader in innovation around backdrops. We constantly launch new products, designs and variations in colour. We recently launched Wrinkle-Resistant Backdrops which is a global first and was received with great success. We also developed a new range of backdrops that were inspired by our bestselling colours and they were an instant success. When anyone asks us what’s new, we always have a different answer for them!
Q. What has been your most significant failures, and what did you learn from them?
AM: We wouldn’t say we have faced failure, but we have had our fair share of obstacles. The biggest obstacle was one the entire world faced together. The pandemic not only led to significant losses but also completely destroyed our logistics and supply chain. But that is what spurred us on and we managed to make it our biggest opportunity for growth. We saw the demand for our products rising as people started creating content to connect with others as they tried to stay home and stay safe. Everyone was creating their home studios and we took that challenge to grow and become the biggest name in the country.
