Episode 25
Partnerships and Smaller Markets (ft. Enjoy Creative)
Not every video company is built in a major hub. Enjoy Creative is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where co-founders Trevor Hnatowich and Scott Anderson have built a studio around helping brands use video to overcome challenges and achieve strong results.
In this episode, Trevor and Scott join Dario and Kyrill to talk through two themes that shape a company like theirs: partnerships, the reality of building and running a video business with a co-founder, and working in a smaller market, where the competitive landscape, the client pool, and the way you grow all look different from the big cities.
Key Takeaways
- Partnerships run on clear lanes. A two-founder video company tends to work best when each person owns a distinct part of the business and the creative, and decisions and trust are shared deliberately.
- A smaller market has real upsides. Less local competition and a tighter, more referral-driven community can make a market like Winnipeg a strength rather than a limitation.
- You still have to look beyond your city. A smaller local client pool means many regional companies win larger work remotely or by reaching into bigger markets.
- Reputation compounds when everyone knows everyone. In a tight market, consistently good work and good relationships become the most powerful marketing you have.
On Partnerships
Enjoy Creative is run by two people, Trevor and Scott, so it is fitting that partnership is one of the episode’s two anchors. The realities of a co-founder relationship, dividing the business and the creative, making decisions together, and keeping trust intact as the company grows, are a recurring subject on this show. It is the same terrain Lapse maps in describing how its own partnership is structured, and that a later episode explores in depth around the benefits of co-directing.
On Working in a Smaller Market
The other anchor is geography. Enjoy Creative is based in Winnipeg, a smaller market than the Torontos and Vancouvers that dominate the industry conversation, and working from one carries a distinct mix of advantages and constraints: less local competition and a tighter, more referral-driven community on one side, a smaller pool of large local clients on the other. Growing from that position often leans on the same organic, relationship-first approach covered in the episode on how to grow organically, and the question of how to staff and scale from a smaller base echoes the production company versus solo videographer trade-off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the guests on episode 25 of Creatives Grab Coffee?
Trevor Hnatowich and Scott Anderson, the co-founders of Enjoy Creative, a video production company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
What is Enjoy Creative?
A Winnipeg, Manitoba video production company focused on helping brands use video to overcome challenges and achieve strong results. Site: enjoycreative.ca.
What does this episode cover?
Two themes: partnerships, the reality of running a video company with a co-founder, and working in a smaller market like Winnipeg.
Where is Enjoy Creative located?
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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.
Enjoy Creative is a video production company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, co-founded by Trevor Hnatowich and Scott Anderson. The studio is focused on helping brands use video to overcome challenges and achieve outstanding results. Learn more at enjoycreative.ca.
