Today we’d like to introduce you to Blake Takushi.
Hi Blake, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Born and raised in Sugar Land, TX. I got my start in filmmaking creating vlogs and YouTube videos in high school. I fell in love with telling stories with my camera but shelved my passions as I began my education at the school of engineering at the University of Texas. In one short semester, I realized that my future belonged not in an engineering profession but rather in the creative industry. A major change into the Moody college did not last long however, as in 2018 I made the decision that would change my life forever – I withdrew from the School of Advertising at The University of Texas at Austin to become a partner and creative director at Nimaroh Creative House. Nimaroh was in its infancy, and our early journey as an agency founded by young creatives with zero-to-little industry experience went as expected. We hustled, said yes to every project, worked on low-level creative for small clients, and did absolutely anything to land work opportunities with larger companies. The first year-and-a-half of climbing this ladder was a grind, but over time, we refined our approach and skillsets, expanded our team, and slowly gained our industry experience.
Fast forward to today, we’ve seen our organization grow to a scale that we could’ve never imagined. We took the insights and learnings from the first few years of running our agency and have found systems to make our workflows more efficient, our conversations with clients more effective, and have pushed the quality of work to a level that shines amongst the crowd. In April 2022, our teams success was validated, as our company was officially acquired by local advertising agency Idea Peddler. With many new changes, new services and new team members, our original core value will carry-on, and personally I will continue telling our clients stories through visuals, bringing ideas to life, and directing creativity at Idea Peddler.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
While in the early stages of our company, a mentor shared that we had the formula for success as an agency has three key variables – the team, talent, and experience. At that time, we were unsure of where that vision came from or how we would ultimately find success. As noted before, we were purely in a mindset of the grind, which led us to be as scrappy as we needed. If we weren’t struggling, we felt like we were doing something wrong or weren’t pushing ourselves hard enough.
For the first few months of our company, we didn’t have much money in the bank. Even when we would land a few strong clients, there was still a degree of uncertainty of whether that work would be sustainable over the long term.
Even today, we face plenty of struggles. But all of these struggles are what allowed us to adapt and build systems in place that makes us stronger and more resilient against the uncertainty that exists within the creative space. As we made small iterations in our operations, we slowly became more and more comfortable with the challenges ahead, even the ones we couldn’t expect.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Nimaroh?
At the core of Nimaroh, we are a creative agency that specializes in production, design, and development. Over the years, we’ve produced video content, designed campaigns, and developed sites for world-class clients across the country. From working with global brands like CNN International and NASA to much more local impacts such as campaigns for the City of Austin as well my (almost) alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin.
What differentiates our work from others is our relentless desire to make each project better than the last. Everyone on our team is both an artist and a marketer, and we set out to create content that is both stunning and effective. We’ve become recognized for putting out consistent great work, fostering young creative talent, and leaving our clients with an experience that has lead word of mouth to become the number one factor in scaling our brand across the states.
What makes you happy?
When I started in the early stages of my film-making career, I’d look up to the top creatives with envy, frustrated that my footage looked inferior. Seeing that someone with the same cameras and software could create such beautiful work, I was incredibly motivated to learn and refine my craft. Through years of pushing ourselves in creating the work that reflects the best version of our capabilities, I’ve learned that each project is not just a learning opportunity but a mandatory lesson in the process of bettering ourselves.
In my opinion, the most important core value of our company is “Pride in Work.” The creative work that comes out of Nimaroh, whether photos and videos or designs and animations, are all an extension of who we are as a team, and nothing makes me happier than seeing our ideas come to life. More importantly, we strive to bring smiles to our client’s faces and build the long-term trust that have our clients coming back to us year after year. This is a priority that will never change, and as long as our work keeps our clients happy and we are proud of what we create, I’m confident we’ll continue being a force in the creative space.
Contact Info:
- Email: blake@nimaroh.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/blaketak
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/blaketakushi
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BlakeTakushi
