Episode 113
Building a Values-Driven Production Company (ft. Tiny Studios)
Most production companies say they have values. Tiny Studios built the whole company around them, and got the certification to prove it. Founded by Celia Hodgson and run operationally by Ed Rowe, the London studio is a B Corp that produces web and social content across sectors while refusing to play by the industry’s burnout-heavy rules. It is proof that you can care about people and the planet and still run a real, growing business.
In Episode 113, Celia and Ed join Dario and Kyrill for a wide-ranging conversation: going from solo freelancer to studio founder, bringing in an operational backbone, educating clients on budget, and building healthier, more inclusive sets. They also get candid about the two hardest business questions a values-driven studio can face: what it takes to become a certified B Corp, and how to get acquired without losing the culture that made you worth acquiring in the first place.
Key Takeaways
- Freelance to founder, gradually. Celia grew Tiny Studios out of her freelance work, hiring her first editor during lockdown when project-managing freelancers stopped scaling.
- Every studio needs a backbone. Ed brought operational structure, including the realization that they were not even quoting for their pre-production time.
- Educate clients on budget. Setting budget and expectations early is what makes projects run smoothly and keeps clients happy.
- Reject the burnout badge of honor. Tiny Studios runs safe, inclusive, non-hierarchical sets where crews are well-fed and go home on time.
- Build the community you want. Celia co-founded Making Moves for female and non-binary filmmakers, and Ed founded Queer Lens for LGBTQ+ crew.
- Know your value. Understanding and articulating client value is how a studio differentiates instead of competing on price.
- Get acquired without losing yourself. Tiny Studios was acquired by Spin but kept its name, office, and autonomy, running jobs through a value-and-vibe check.
- B Corp is a business audit. Certification forces you to document your processes and weigh people and planet alongside profit, and it made the acquisition due diligence far smoother.
Timestamps
From Solo Freelancer to Studio Founder
Tiny Studios began as Celia Films. Celia Hodgson freelanced as a videographer from 2016, and like a lot of talented solo shooters, she eventually hit the ceiling of what one person can do. She felt limited working alone, missed the energy of collaborating, and found herself constantly project-managing other freelancers for animation, sound design, and everything a client needed but she could not do herself.
The leap came during the COVID lockdown, when she hired her first remote editor and rebranded to Tiny Studios. It is the same gradual, demand-driven path from freelancer to owner that many guests describe, and a reminder that the jump from a videographer to a video production company is usually a series of small, client-led decisions rather than one big bet.
Bringing in the Operational Backbone
Celia led the creative charge, but a studio needs more than creative. Ed Rowe joined about four years ago as operations director and creative producer, coming out of factual and scripted TV specifically because he was looking for a company with a great culture. He immediately spotted structural gaps, most tellingly that the studio was not even quoting clients for its pre-production time, which is some of the most valuable work a studio does.
Ed formalized the unglamorous machinery: quoting, HR processes, employee handbooks. That operational layer is exactly what turns a talented creative shop into a durable business, and it is why pricing the full corporate video production process, pre-production included, matters so much. Great creative without operations is a hobby with good footage.
Educating Clients on Budget and Expectations
A recurring theme is client education. Celia and Ed are big believers that setting budget and expectations early, honestly, and clearly is what makes a project succeed. Clients rarely know what things should cost or why, and walking them through it up front prevents the painful conversations later.
That is a lesson every studio learns eventually. Being transparent about what a video actually costs and where the day rates go builds the trust that turns a first project into a long relationship, the same territory the show explored in deepening client relationships.
Rejecting the Burnout Badge of Honor
The most refreshing part of the episode is Tiny Studios’ flat rejection of traditional, burnout-heavy production culture. They run safe, inclusive, non-hierarchical sets where crews are well-fed and get to go home on time, and they actively refuse the macho badge-of-honor mentality that treats unnecessary fifteen-hour days as something to brag about.
It is both an ethical stance and a smart business one. Rested, respected crews do better work and stick around, which is its own competitive advantage in a talent-driven industry. The show has circled this before in conversations about investing in your team.
“We reject the badge-of-honor culture of unnecessary fifteen-hour days.”
Celia Hodgson, Tiny StudiosBuilding Community: Making Moves and Queer Lens
Celia and Ed do not stop at their own sets, they are working to improve the wider UK industry. Celia co-founded Making Moves, a community that amplifies and connects female and non-binary filmmakers, which has grown to around a thousand members. Inspired by it, Ed founded Queer Lens, an open and safe space where LGBTQ+ filmmakers can share advice and post jobs for safe productions.
It is a concrete example of values turned into action, and a reminder that the health of a studio is tied to the health of the community it hires from. Building networks like these is a different, more generous version of the community and relationship building that also happens to grow a business.
Word of Mouth and Knowing Your Value
On the growth side, Tiny Studios has built largely through word of mouth, which only works when the work and the experience are both excellent. Tied to that is a clear-eyed understanding of their own value proposition: knowing exactly what they offer and to whom is how they differentiate instead of racing competitors to the bottom on price.
That clarity is what lets a studio charge what it is worth. It starts with being able to articulate what a corporate video is meant to achieve for a client, and helping buyers understand how to choose the right partner rather than the cheapest one.
The Acquisition: Getting Bought Without Selling Out
The biggest chapter of the story is the acquisition. In September, Tiny Studios was acquired by Spin, a 360 social media agency. For Celia and Ed, protecting the company’s integrity through the transition was non-negotiable, and Spin respected their expertise and mission. Tiny Studios kept its name, its office, and total autonomy over the projects it takes on, even running potential jobs through an internal value-and-vibe check.
It is a rare, encouraging example of an acquisition that does not flatten what made the company special. Maintaining autonomy post-acquisition is what protects the culture, and it only worked because they were clear about their value going in. The show has explored the flip side of company value and exits in its looking back and moving forward episode.
Why B Corp Certification Is Worth It
Underpinning all of it is Tiny Studios’ status as a certified B Corp. Ed is honest that certification takes real time and resources, but he frames it as one of the best audits a business can put itself through. It forces you to write your processes down, spot areas for improvement, and prove that you prioritize people and the planet as much as profit.
There was an unexpected payoff too: because they already had all that documentation in order for B Corp, the intense data-room stage of their acquisition went remarkably smoothly. Values and operations turned out to be the same discipline. Writing down how you work, the same instinct behind a documented production process, pays off in ways you cannot predict.
“B Corp forces you to write it all down, and that makes you a better business.”
Ed Rowe, Tiny StudiosDocumentation, Balance, and Continuous Improvement
The through-line of the whole conversation is that a creative business has to balance the admin and the art. Documentation, clear processes, and continuous improvement are not the enemy of creativity, they are what create the space for it, letting the team focus on the work instead of firefighting. Networking and partnerships, like the relationship that led to the Spin acquisition, grow from that same stable foundation.
It adds up to a genuinely different model of a production company: one that treats culture, sustainability, and people as core operating principles rather than marketing lines, and still manages to grow, get certified, and get acquired on its own terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tiny Studios?
Tiny Studios is a B Corp certified production company based in London, founded by Celia Hodgson, producing impactful web and social content across sectors. Ed Rowe serves as its operations director and creative producer.
What does it mean to be a B Corp production company?
B Corp certification holds a company to verified standards on social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Ed Rowe describes the process as a full audit that forces you to document your processes and weigh people and planet alongside profit.
How did Tiny Studios go from freelance to a company?
Celia freelanced as Celia Films from 2016, then gradually built a team as client demand grew, hiring her first remote editor during the COVID lockdown and rebranding to Tiny Studios.
How does Tiny Studios avoid production burnout?
By rejecting the industry’s fifteen-hour badge-of-honor culture and running safe, inclusive, non-hierarchical sets where crews are well-fed and go home on time.
What happens to a studio’s culture after an acquisition?
Tiny Studios was acquired by Spin but negotiated to keep its name, office, and full autonomy over the projects it takes on, protecting the culture and values that made it worth acquiring in the first place.
The Hosts
Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov are the co-founders of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company, and the hosts of Creatives Grab Coffee, a weekly show about the business of video production.
About
Creatives Grab Coffee is a podcast about the business behind video production: sales, strategy, pricing, team building, and everything that happens off camera. New episodes every week on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Lapse Productions is a Toronto-based video production company serving tech, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing clients with corporate, promotional, testimonial, event, and recruitment video. Not sure who to hire? Start with our guide on how to choose a video production company.
Tiny Studios is a B Corp certified video production company based in London, founded by Celia Hodgson with operations led by Ed Rowe, producing impactful web and social content and championing healthier, more inclusive sets. Learn more at tinystudios.com.
