July 26, 2013
From arts to entrepreneurship
What can you do with an Arts degree? Two Waterloo grads combined their technical and creative skills to start a successful video production company.
Drafting story boards, crafting the perfect shot and hanging out of a helicopter - it’s all in a day’s work for Arc Media Inc., a boutique video production company launched by two Waterloo grads.
“We typically have multiple projects on the go at once, each at various stages of development,” says Jon Lucas, who co-founded Arc Media with classmate Andrew Askes. “We’re often writing for one client while editing footage for another. We’re working with our storyboard artist in the morning and then meeting a prospective client in the afternoon.
“It’s been a wild year,” he adds. “This month we’re travelling to four different cities to produce videos for international clients.”
You may not be familiar with the name, but chances are you’ve seen Arc Media’s work – such as the widely-viewed promo for another Waterloo-based startup, Thalmic Labs, that is now approaching 3 million views on YouTube.
The duo got their start in 2011 with the Research Entrepreneurs Accelerating Prosperity (REAP) program through the Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology (CCAT) at the University of Waterloo. Lucas and Askes spent eight months there tackling multimedia projects and learning the ropes of running a small business under the mentorship of experts like Glenn Stillar, Jill Tomasson Goodwin and Bob Rushby.
Hands-on experience
“Working with REAP as well as CCAT gave me some serious hands-on experience in things like video production, interactive public displays, project management, lean business principles and public speaking,” says Lucas. “I had some great professors, particularly in the Digital Arts Communication program where there’s a big focus not only on new media production but also on new media design and experimentation.”
With their mix of technical and creative skills already in demand, starting their own business after graduation was the next logical step. Early work for BufferBox, recently acquired by Google, and Thalmic Labs helped launch their company while contributing to the success of their clients.
Fortune 500 clients
“In the past year we’ve doubled the size of our core team, and have just hired our second intern. We recently became incorporated, filed for a patent, produced and launched an interactive web series, and grew our commercial client list from zero to where it is today,” adds Lucas. Now, their portfolio boasts projects for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies such as Cisco Canada.
“I think the early demand from these companies for unique video content, as well as that entrepreneurial spirit that Waterloo is famous for were two big influences for me.”
See more of Arc Media’s work on Vimeo.
