Fiumu

FIUMU stands for ‘film and music’('Film und Musik'), because these two media are the hobbyhorse of the agency for video marketing.

Founder Daniel Brosowski was born in Siegen and studied business administration there. Daniel got to know his two co-founders Jan-Christopher Föst and Rayan El-Dick at the Gründerbüro's start-up incubator. As all three were already producing videos in their spare time, they decided to join forces. The three started their first joint projects in 2015. They officially founded the company in January 2016.

Today, they produce promotional videos in various formats for companies with FIUMU. Their range of services extends from image films and product videos to assembly instructions (explanatory videos). The aim is always to present companies and products better and to solve a wide range of individual problems. They can also create special videos such as 360-degree videos or virtual reality films.

The company has a total of 18 employees. The founders themselves all work full-time in their start-up. FIUMU is based in Siegen-Weidenau. FIUMU was built up over time without further financial support and grew from project to project.

How did you come up with the idea for FIUMU and the associated idea of video marketing?

In my first job after graduating, I worked in marketing for a company in Siegen, where I occasionally ‘made’ small videos for customers. I really enjoyed doing this and it was a good combination of what I had learnt, i.e. marketing/business administration, and what I liked to do in my free time, i.e. making videos. I realised that I wanted to continue doing this and then, in 2013, I had the idea of starting my own business.

What attracted you to setting up your own company?

I've always wanted to do that. It's easier to try things out and realise your ideas.

What was the key moment for founding the company?

In my job at the time, the project I was working on came to an end, whereupon I was offered another job there. At that time, I realised that I would actually prefer to continue concentrating on videos. This gave me the opportunity to try my hand at it.

What is/was innovative about your start-up?

Although we are active in the classic advertising film industry, we have developed our own style. What's more, we work as an in-house company. This means that we don't bring in external people, but do everything for the customer ourselves, from the design to the shoot to the editing. This somewhat different production method sets us apart from competing agencies. And our concept is also well received by our clients. We always try not ‘just’ to produce a nice film, but also to produce the right video for the respective customer's purpose.

What challenges did you face when you founded the company?

First of all, understand what you need to start a business. It is usually only afterwards, when something has already gone wrong, that you realise what you could have done differently. However, nobody tells you beforehand how you should have done it better.

But by far the most difficult thing was and is finding customers. Without references there are no customers, without customers there are no references. You have to learn to understand what makes customers tick and what they want. So you start the first projects from scratch and step by step you start to grow and think bigger.

What's more, companies were not yet ready to try out new video formats or to engage in video marketing at all.

What support from the start-up office did you find particularly helpful?

It was helpful to get free office space and thus an office address. The coaching sessions and the dialogue with the other founders were also a particular support in the initial phase. That definitely helped us.

What is your advice for young founders?

It is difficult to give general tips because every start-up is very individual. Every idea is different and so are the respective requirements for the start-up. Nevertheless, I would advise: ‘Take your time and concentrate fully on your start-up project’. It can take a long time to get to where you want to be.

Would you found a company again?

Yes, because with the knowledge I have today, I would start a completely different business and save myself a lot of detours. I wouldn't even know if I would want to work as an employee somewhere again.

This portrait is based on an interview with Daniel Brosowski in July 2020 and was written by Janice Gust.

 

Click here for the startup's homepage.