Four years is both a long time and short time. For startups, just getting through the first year is a monumental task. In the eyes of the world, however, reaching international status in just four years is short, even remarkable. It’s difficult but it’s not impossible, as this month’s spotlight startup proves.
To put it simply, XS Multimedia is “the [creative] agency of the future.” Founded in 2011, XS Multimedia (then XSDesign Studio) didn’t have a lot to go on. It didn’t have angel investors or rising stars in the management world. It was built from the ground up by one man, Chris Roxas. Years later, the fledgling advertising agency bagged an award for the 5th Hardest Working Start Up Company in the world at Websummit 2013 in Dublin, Ireland. At present, the former XSDesign Studio has evolved from just an ad agency to a multimedia agency, producing everything in-house and renaming the company to XS Multimedia. Roxas attributes the start of the startup’s success to one thing: a meaning.
“Where’s your team?”
“I started out as a freelancer in 2011. It was a particularly low point in my life. I had no intention of putting up a company. I only had one thing: a laptop,” Roxas said. Clients had started to come in through referrals. A single freelancer trying to make it in an industry saturated by big agencies requires Herculean efforts. Things started to get hairy when he started pitching with those competing agencies whose representatives came in wearing blazers. To improve his chances in gaining clients, he claimed that he worked for another big agency. “Hindi ko alam kung bakit ko sinabi ‘yun,” he said. Surprisingly, he did win the client over with his work. But while working with the client, they kept asking him, “Where’s your team?” “They’re busy with other accounts,” he would say.
While the move may have earned him clients, pressure started to mount. While meeting with clients, he would work on other accounts on his laptop. “Kulang ang 24 hours,” he tweeted at the time. He had to hire someone else. After earning enough, he found someone to, at least, take care of the back end operations of his one-man enterprise. Until now, his first hire is still with the company as an administration manager.
XS Multimedia’s expansion throughout the years relied heavily on gut feel. Roxas bought machines and hired new people incrementally after earning a bit more. And it worked. “I just did my thing every day. We always worked hard,” he said. At Websummit 2013 in Dublin, Ireland, organizers gave them a free exhibit booth to showcase their services with the likes of Facebook and Twitter. It was then that XS won their award. Their growth has been escalating ever since.
“We were sensitive to growth, but we’re not conscious of it. It’s just hard work.”
Raison d’être
When asked about the company’s vision, Roxas changed gears. Gut feel was gone. He wasn’t an anything-goes, happy-go-lucky guy. He had a purpose. “Our vision is simple. Every single XS output wants to create change in society. It’s not just about the products that we do. We want to be a tool in creating change. We want to be game changers,” he said.
“Some startups focus on investments. It’s not about that. It’s about what you do with the money. It’s not an achievement to earn P10 million in investments. Crowdfunding is too mainstream. A lot of millennials want to put up startups without reason. They want to save the world or put up a business for the heck of it. Pero walang reason. It’s about finding your reason,” he said.
Agency of the future
“We want to help people. We want to help freelancers because I’ve been there. We want to change the landscape of the industry. We want to pave the way for other startup agencies, that it’s possible for them to lock in big clients. Basically, we want to help people in any way that we can,” he said.
“We’re pegging ourselves as the agency of the future.”
Unlike other agencies who just provide advertising or marketing, exclusively, XS Multimedia is an international agency that has ventured out into a holistic approach. They do everything in-house, including production and creatives. “It’s a one-stop shop. Mas maganda para sa clients na iisa na lang kausap,” he said.
XS’ Gothic art style has a lot of golds and blacks. They’re more in the mysterious side. That’s the “X” in their name, the dark horse in the alphabet. They also love skulls. “Because everyone has a skull. It’s a basic. It doesn’t matter what your religion, political view, or age is. Our clients are the skulls. We’ll embellish and design them,” he said.
They cater to both top companies and small startups. Sometimes, services are free for these startups because they want to help. They want to be a tool for other companies, whether it be branding or even just a logo.
Future plans
“Which is my favorite project? My next one. Lahat ng projects, binubuhos namin puso namin. I want to top my last one.”
In the future (possibly at the time of this issue’s release), XS is launching a digital platform that talks and inspires millennials, the future leaders. At the same time, it provides their clients with an additional avenue to reach their target audience.
In the next five years, Roxas plans to expand and open other offices that focus on sales and accounts. He also plans to expand internationally, as well. Just in their youth, XS Multimedia has already acquired international clients in Malaysia, Paris, Dubai, and Germany. Roxas wants more minds and more ideas.
Life as an entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship brings a lot changes to one’s life. In Roxas’ case, it wasn’t any different. He may be in the same industry he was in when he started, but his life wasn’t the same.
“From a freelancer to an entrepreneur, nagbago perspective ko sa buhay. I now believe that when you think of something, you can definitely achieve it. I have a deeper relationship with my work. It may be a cliché, but it’s not work for me. It’s just who I am. It just so happens that I’m a business worker. You can be anyone, a janitor or a baker. If you feel that it’s not work, then it won’t be work. I gained confidence that I didn’t expect. Either you have it or you don’t. I don’t just think of myself. I can’t YOLO. Now, it’s not just me. When I meet clients, I go as XS and I bring each and every one of [my team’s] stories. I hire people with stories,” he said.
“For potential startups, find your vision. Find your purpose. Hindi lang nakadiskubre ka na ng something, okay na. I’d be lying if it wasn’t about money. Money is good. But the real purpose [behind it is the] meaning. You should have meaning. Money and meaning. If you have a reason to create change, that’s the meaning of your money.”
“My dream for the company is to be game changer. We want to pave the way for other companies. We want to be an inspiration for other companies that we can move mountains. We will scale, grow, and help people achieve their true potentials.”
“I’m wearing better shoes now but my feet are still on the ground.”
