Ripple Media Co-founder Madhura Samarth's Interview

We invited Madhura Samarth, Co-founder of Ripple Media for an interview with Most Popular Stories to know more about her entrepreneurial journey.

Ripple Media is a content company that crafts innovative solutions to drive business growth. Their thinking and design are always rooted in business strategy.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as an entrepreneur

I was born and brought up in Bombay (aside from a few years in Delhi where we moved when my father was posted there to set up the ad agency, Ogilvy & Mather‘s Delhi office). I was educated at The Cathedral & John Connon School in Mumbai till the 12th standard. Post that, I went to a Liberal Arts college in the US, where I received my BA in Economics.

On my first day at college, the Dean in his commencement address said something that really struck me – he said that if we leave after 4 years unchanged in any way, then the college wouldn’t have accomplished its mission. I remember starting college as a student who was trained to follow rules and not ask why. I was a student who was trained to never
question authority. Four years later when I graduated, I was fundamentally changed – I learned to question relentlessly, never stop questioning until my curiosity was satisfied, and to do things differently – not for the sake of doing them differently but because the
new methods worked better than the old ones.

I went to college determined to become an investment banker in New York. This desire largely came from what I had heard from my peers – investment banking is the job to have, the money is great and New York in the best city to live in.

I did get my dream job and worked with some amazing people at the bank I worked at in New York, including my mentor. But somehow, I realized that having a job was not my dream. It was someone else’s dream. I felt stifled working for someone else – my destiny was not my own. I knew I was a cog in the wheel and that I would really never make a difference. Thousands like me would come and go.

I quit my job after 3 years and moved back to India with a rather half baked plan – I say this now with 2020 hindsight- but at the time I thought my plan was solid and the thought that it could fail never crossed my mind. Many years and 2 failed and 1 semi-successful venture later, my co-founder and I stared Ripple Media.

What was the vision behind it?

We started Ripple Media at a time when TV commercials were big and when no one was doing animated video regularly. At that time only the large conglomerates could afford to advertise since it was very expensive to advertise on TV. They made a couple of ads each year which they blasted to everyone and the slots were usually 20 or 30 seconds.
The money riding on these commercials was astronomical, which is why businesses that were advertising and the agencies that were servicing them couldn’t take any creative risks. They had to make a commercial that was going to be from a 6 on 10 to an 8 on 10. They used the same creative people over and over again, paid them exorbitantly, and worse,
didn’t get the best possible results.

Then internet penetration improved, speeds improved, the cheap smartphone came in and smaller brands could now access their audience. The beauty was that none of the large advertising agencies saw this change coming and they weren’t organizationally structured to create small films.

Prior to starting Ripple Media, I ran a company called Sharp Shooter Films, which used to produce TV commercials and most of our clients were large agencies. When I spoke to them about doing smaller films for the Internet for their clients, they weren’t interested. After all, why should we make films for 1/10th of what they are currently at?

My partner and I started approaching mid-sized companies as well as large conglomerated directly with our TV commercial portfolio. We told them that they could reach their audience on the internet with films made at a fraction of the current costs. Instead of making 1-4 films per year, they could make 10-40 films per year – personalize their
communication, engage more frequently with their audience, and achieve better results.

The businesses themselves had seen this opportunity but couldn’t talk to their creative agencies about their needs as the budgets were too low. If they want directly to production houses, their teams couldn’t write scripts based on business objectives or execute without an agency directing them.

Ripple Media was the one company that could fill the gap. Why? Because both my co-founder and I came from a business background, having been trained in investment banking and with degrees in Economics, we understood how to analyze businesses. We had both run a TVC company before so understood the creative aspects. We built on these two skill sets and set up teams that we trained in strategy, scriptwriting, visualization, and animation…we became a unique player in the space.

We now work with clients like Amazon, Vodafone, HDFC, ICICI, DMart, Abbott, IIFL, National Airlines, Johnson Controls…the list goes on.

Describe the services that Ripple Media offers to customers and in what way they are unique?

We create animated or stock footage based video content for brands’ digital channels, with a focus in the B2B space. Our goal is to help clients achieve business results. These could be from increasing awareness or form-fill rates to increasing sales.

We understand a brand’s offerings and target audiences. We work collaboratively with their marketing teams to come up with a video content strategy over a 12 month period. We then script the videos and create them within a fixed cost and a fixed time.

We are unique because we care only about achieving business results for our clients. We’ve set up and trained our teams with this one goal in mind. To achieve this goal, we have implemented a proprietary multi-step approval based process so that that work in progress is always in line with the client’s expectations. The result is that we deliver a film that works for the client, on time, and within budget every single time.

What difficulties which you have faced or you are facing?

We’ve faced cash flow issues in the past and retaining writing talent is hard.

How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?

I try to respond to a stressful situation or person rather than react. I believe that every problem can be handled. The best way for me when I feel stressed is to bring my breath to an even rhythm first, then think with a clear head and do the right thing in any situation.

What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?

Have 100% integrity in everything you do. The way you deal with your clients, employees, partners, vendors. People should know that your word is gold.

How your company, Ripple Media helping India to grow?

We provide a stable job and good salaries for our staff. We also donate a percentage of our income to causes we believe in.

In your opinion what are the keys to success?

There are no keys – there are combinations of factors and we all have to figure out our own based on our own personality traits and skillsets.

What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?

It’s a tough road – there’s no fixed salary, there’s uncertainty, you could fail, you’re on 24/7…so your venture better be something that you’re really passionate about. Also, having a partner you trust and who complements your skill sets helps.