Satish Shewhorak, who graduated last September with an MA in Computer Animation from Teeside University, set up moShine Animation Studio with three fellow course mates in April this year, working on a variety of branding, corporate design, motion graphics and animation projects.

Satish has also set up a local arts night, moShine Mix, to encourage the Teeside design and digital community to share best practice, with the proceeds going to local charities.

Can you please explain a little about how you went about starting your business

The four founding members of moShine Animation Studio met at Teesside University studying the MA Computer Animation course. One late night in a break from our dissertation projects we were watching graphics on some cable TV shows and thought ‘we can do better’ so we phoned up a maker of a music show offered to revamp their graphics and they agreed!

With the experience of working with a real world client we had the impetus to forego the rigours of recruitment processes and decided that we’d prefer to make money off our own hands. So we setup on our own and haven’t looked back.

What made you decide to start up this sort of business – have you always had an interest in animation?

The business was an investment in the highly advanced skills we’d learnt and also a lifestyle choice. Working long hours is never a chore when its something you love doing so there’s a great sense of job satisfaction.

Did your lecturers encourage you to make a career out of your course?

Our course was very much geared to building up an impressive showreel that would help us gain employment. However our lecturers still provided us with much valued advice from their own experience in the markets we were looking to enter.

Have you always wanted to be your own boss and do your own thing?

Not necessarily. I previously saw myself as an employee, however you soon learn how adaptable you can become when the choice is truly yours. Both skills wise and in terms of character

Where did you find funding for your business?

theDigitalCity provided us with some startup funding to work on our first project and invaluable mentoring sessions. They are a Teesside cultural regeneration organisation who provide funding to new arts projects and businesses. Business Link have also been helpful with business advice.

What was the most difficult part of starting up the business?

As a group of creatives the hardest part of starting up was learning the business skills and mentality that we needed to adopt to survive financially.

Did you encounter any negative attitudes due to the fact you were going straight from education into business?

Not particularly. There may be some resentment at the subsidisent rent, bills and training some graduate businesses receive however graduates face starting up businesses with little to no prior experience and large student debts

How is the business faring?

After a relatively slow start finding our market and establishing our brand and reputation we are now busy working on a mixture of corporate and creative projects. This balance enables us to stay financially secure but also creatively inspired and innovative.

What are your future plans for the business?

We are developing moShine beyond simply a graphics and animation studio but into a wider reaching arts collective that can provide a wider range of services through high quality freelancers and staff.

We are building our moShine mix interdisciplinary arts night into a promotional tool that can represent not only our skills but also promote the best of the North East talent.

What do you think of the UK as a place to start up as a young entrepreneur?

The UK has a lot of support and infrastructure that is very good at nurturing young entrepreneurs. Organisations such as Business Link, Graduate Business schemes, Flying Start and startups.co.uk mean there is plenty of encouragement for young people to venture into business.


www.moshine.co.uk