Should give chances to startups, says fashion producer

Sid Naidu has worked his way up in the world of fashion. He points out the need to encourage fresh talent in the industry

Fashion producer and entrepreneur Sid Naidu is a man of many talents. He launched his company ‘Sid Productions’ in 2017 at the age of 25. The company is engaged in fashion shoots, model grooming, art direction, brand building, print ads, TV commercials, digital and feature films.

However, the journey till here has not been smooth. As a child, Sid wanted to become a cricketer but the sudden demise of his father put a halt to his dream of getting into the Indian cricket team. To lessen the family’s burden, he began to work at the young age of 15.

However, Sid has no regrets and believes that the struggles in his life taught him a lot. That he has come out stronger is evident by the fact that his company’s turnover has surged to almost three crores within a few years.

In an interview with Metrolife, Sid talks about his journey, learning, and more.

We have heard that you used to sell newspapers...

When my father passed away in 2002, I had to help my mother and younger brother financially. Some of my school friends were distributing newspapers in the morning and one of them helped me get the same work. My days started as early as 4.30 in the morning; I would finish my work by 7.30 am and then go to school. I did this till I was in class 10. I got Rs 250 per month when I started and slowly it increased to Rs 650 per month. It wasn’t much but it was enough to pay my and my brother’s school fees.

Tell us about your journey so far.

I started working after my 10th standard, in 2008. I started out as an office boy in a chartered accountant’s office in Jayanagar but had to quit within a month due to physical ailments. I was just 16 at that time and not eligible to work in a company.

Eventually, I got a job as a service boy at a cafe and soon enough, was promoted as the store manager. Later, I became the cashier at a beauty and wellness store in Mantri Square Mall.

While working there, I saw a lot of events and fashion shows. Though not very aware of what these were, I soon realised that this was something that interested me.

I connected with the mall managers and operations people and one of them, who was starting his own events company, put me in the operations team at the mall. It was there I learned about event management and fashion shows.

Later I had a stint at an experiential marketing company, and that was my last job. Both my bosses had a background in fashion and mostly did shoots, advertising and marketing for well-known brands. I learned many things there too.

I started Sid Productions in September 2017, with Rs 70,000 in my bank account and contacts at a few e-commerce brands with whom I had worked before. My first project was a shoot for Myntra. It picked up from there and I started getting projects from brands like Zivame, Amazon and Flipkart.

From selling newspapers to establishing your own company, who do you owe your success to?

It was a tough journey. I had to struggle a lot to be where I am today. My mother has been a pillar of support and has stood strong even when things went downhill. Her meagre salary was not enough to run the family but she never showed any sign of despair. My brother, who has been my backbone since the time I started my venture, and now my wife, who is also the creative director of my company, have also supported me a lot.

You have now ventured into the weddings space...

The weddings vertical is something very personal to me; I take up such events mostly out of passion. Though it was initially part of Sid Productions, I decided to give it a separate identity and launched ‘Banana Leaf’. It is an eco-conscious wedding and event design company.

We are primarily into customised, low-budget weddings and have done about 30 weddings overall.

What kept you going through the difficult times?

Given the situation I was in, money was a major concern. I had the urge to earn money and even at that young age, I understood that this is not going to be possible if I continued my studies. But I had confidence that I will achieve something by the age of 25. Maybe that kept me going.

Your biggest fear?

There’s too much competition in the industry right now, and with this comes a lot of politics. There are clients who don’t give enough jobs and opportunities to young and talented people. There have been times when I have seen an advertisement on TV and found many mistakes. But when I go to the same client and point these out to them, they don’t believe me because I am a young guy with less experience. So that is something that worries me. Having said that, there are also clients who encourage fresh faces and new ideas too. I think it is important to give opportunities to startups, because they are filled with young talent and enthusiasm.

Your future endeavours?

Going ahead, I want to produce small budget Bollywood movies. My dream is to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali.