A New Reality of Working Remotely and Ways to Adapt as Told by Alex Tahanchin

We talked to Alex Tahanchin, founder of Krock, about making outstanding video projects in a big way, and he had the following to say:-

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Alex Tahanchin: It was quite a challenging year. My entire family went through the disease, but now we feel well and keep on doing great stuff. My wife always helped me with my businesses, and last year we worked hard to bring one of our new products to life. Of course, we had to cancel a lot of plans and trips, but I’m grateful that we could cope with all the difficulties together. 

At the moment, I keep on running my animation agency, working with my team remotely, and prepare to launch Krock.io, a content review app for media production companies and creatives all around the world. 

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Krock.

Alex Tahanchin: I started my first business 9 years ago. Having worked as a freelancer in 3d production, I decided to start my own video production company called Hound Studio. We create animated commercials, brand videos, and cartoons. 

Since last year completely changed our lives and we had to adapt to new ways of working, we started developing a new app for internal use that helped our team to manage workflow, control the production process, and share media content. It was a pretty new experience for me, but thanks to this app, we could build an effective pipeline of our projects, have smooth communication with clients, and deliver all the projects on time. Having got positive feedback on our tool, we made the decision to move forward with our startup.  

How does Krock innovate? 

Alex Tahanchin: There are a lot of project management platforms, and they all are really good in their own ways. But there is no all-in-one tool that has all the features we need to produce content in our industry. Krock.io is a platform that helps to manage projects in a new convenient way and saves time you used to spend on lost feedback, misunderstandings, and a limitless number of versions. With our product, we give creators the freedom to create more and focus on the things that matter. 

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping? 

Alex Tahanchin: Frankly speaking, it’s a whole new way of doing things, which includes new downsides, but when you run a digital marketing agency, all your final products live online, and in most cases, are created online.  

At first, things were unclear, but after a while, we realized that more and more requests are coming, and we decided to offer some discounts and reduce production time to deliver projects faster. In fact, that led to sleepless nights and overtime, but we managed to create a lot of amazing products we’re really proud of. 

Obviously, we all already got tired of Zoom meetings and being in home alone mode, but well, times change, and every challenge comes with rainbows and lights to conquer it. 

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Alex Tahanchin: At the beginning of the pandemic and the time of some uncertainty, my biggest fear was to fire people since I have a great team of reliable and passionate guys. We have been working together for years, and I’m glad that all my fellas stayed on board. It’s important to understand that you are not alone and have the support of like-minded people who help you move forward and grow. 

What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?

Alex Tahanchin: Two years ago, we managed our projects with Trello and via emails. It wasn’t the best experience since media production requires more features. Trello is a great platform, but if you produce content and need to stay in touch with clients 24/7, you need to keep all the revisions, schedules, and files in one place not to miss something. Having kept this inconvenience in mind, we developed Krock.io, a content review and task management tool that saved us from pitfalls in production and replaced all the tools we used before. 

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Alex Tahanchin: There are several main competitors, for example, Wipster and Asana. They are good in their own way, but they can’t cover all the production stages. Each product has its secret ingredient; our tool is a go-to tool for companies that produce visual content. We plan to stay in the game by bringing new technologies and features focusing on delivering the best experience to our clients and a team like ours. 

Your final thoughts?

Alex Tahanchin: The pandemic had its effect on businesses, but it also showed which areas have gaps and need to be improved. We have to react fast and adapt to new ways of collaboration using tools that help us to work in new realities effectively. Last year gave us a lot of lessons and taught us not to take everything for granted. With that in mind, we can take the next steps to grow and focus on the future. 

Your website? 

https://hound-studio.com/

https://krock.io/