Episode 1
How We Started
This is where it all began. In the very first episode of Creatives Grab Coffee, hosts Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov of Lapse Productions introduce the show, share how they met, and lay out exactly why two business students ended up running a video production company in Toronto and recording a podcast about it.
Recorded in September 2020, this host-only opener sets the mission that still drives the show: make the video production industry feel smaller by building a community around the business side of the craft. Whether you are a creative, an entrepreneur, or a professional, the idea from day one was simple: bring people on, ask real questions, and share what works.
Key Takeaways
- It started at business school, not film school. Dario and Kyrill met in the Business program at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Business, Dario studying business law and Kyrill studying marketing, with filmmaking as the shared passion on the side.
- Kyrill jumped first, Dario joined fast. Kyrill started creating video content for student groups at Ryerson in the summer of 2013, Dario joined forces in January 2014, and they have worked together under the Lapse Productions name ever since.
- The podcast had a plan from day one. Creatives Grab Coffee serves three purposes for Lapse Productions: to network with business professionals, to learn as much as possible from them, and to grow Lapse’s online presence.
- Community is the mission. The goal of the show is to make the video production industry feel smaller by creating a sense of community where creatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals share their insights.
- The business comes first. From episode one, the focus has been the commercial side of video production: the decisions, relationships, and strategy that happen off camera.
Two Business Students with a Camera
Dario and Kyrill met in the Business program at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Business (the school now known as Toronto Metropolitan University). Dario was studying business law, Kyrill was studying marketing, and neither degree had anything to do with cameras. What they shared was a passion for filmmaking, and that overlap between business training and creative ambition ended up defining everything that came after, from the way they run Lapse Productions to the way this show approaches the industry. It is also the foundation of a working partnership that has now lasted well over a decade, the kind of co-founder relationship the show would later dig into in building a strong partnership.
From Student Groups to Lapse Productions
Kyrill jumped in first. In the summer of 2013 he started creating video content for the student groups at Ryerson, learning the craft one small project at a time. Dario joined forces with him in January 2014, and the two have been working together under the Lapse Productions name ever since, growing from campus gigs into a Toronto corporate video production company.
That arc, from a solo shooter picking up small jobs to an actual company with clients and crews, is the same journey most of the show’s future guests would go on to describe, and it is the exact transition Lapse breaks down in video production company vs videographer. The stages that follow, from first hires to real systems, became one of the show’s recurring themes, mapped out later in the growth stages of a creative business.
Why Start a Podcast?
The hosts are upfront about why Creatives Grab Coffee exists. The show serves three purposes for Lapse Productions: to network with business professionals in different industries, to learn as much as possible from them, and to grow Lapse’s online presence. On top of those sits the bigger mission: making the video production industry feel smaller by creating a sense of community where creatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals openly share what they know.
In this first episode the guest chairs are still empty, but the plan was already set: bring on founders and operators from the video world, then expand into marketing and film. The very next conversation, key lessons for video production companies, put that plan into motion. The show has had chapters of its own since, including a year-long pause and a relaunch, and one hundred episodes in, the hosts looked back at how far it had come in looking back and moving forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the hosts of Creatives Grab Coffee?
Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov, the co-founders of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company. They met in the Business program at Ryerson University and have worked together since 2014.
How did Lapse Productions start?
Kyrill began creating videos for student groups at Ryerson in the summer of 2013, and Dario joined him in January 2014. They have run the company together under the Lapse Productions name ever since.
Why did Lapse Productions start a podcast?
The show serves three purposes: networking with business professionals, learning as much as possible from them, and growing Lapse’s online presence, all in service of making the video production industry feel smaller.
What is Creatives Grab Coffee about?
It is a podcast on the business of video production: pricing, sales, clients, teams, and the decisions behind running a creative company. The guests come from the video world, but the lessons apply to most creative and service businesses.
When did Creatives Grab Coffee launch?
The first episode was released in September 2020. The show has since grown past one hundred episodes, with guests from across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia.
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, event, and testimonial video. New to commissioning video? Start with our guide to the types of corporate video.
