How Abel Mutua's Company Lost Ksh5M in Months [VIDEO]

Kenyan Actor Abel Mutua.
Kenyan Actor Abel Mutua.

Phil-It productions, a company co-owned by content creators Abel Mutua and Philip Karanja, once lost Ksh 5 million in just a couple of months.

Narrating the story on his Stories of My Life series on YouTube, Mutua relayed how he and his co-founder started the company, that has since produced a number of popular shows.

In 2017, he disclosed, the company earned millions after it was contracted to produce two shows, Hullabaloo and Sue and Johnny.

Actor Abel Mutua (left) with film director Phil Karanja in a post shared on Instagram in February 2020
Actor Abel Mutua (left) with film director Phil Karanja in a post shared on Instagram in February 2020
Instagram

"We were over the moon. We knew that we had officially made it, we were millionaires...I had never come into contact with such an amount of money," the lively storyteller narrated.

It wasn't long, however, before bad decisions by the directors led the company to run out of money even before it could finish producing all the episodes.

"We made a decision to ensure that our employees were given generous salaries. At the time, we did not have an accountant and we thought the money was in excess,"Mutua stated.

Mutua revealed that they had not anticipated the expensive quality cost that would come with the production.

He and his business partners had a dream of 'changing the industry' by ensuring that thespians and the crew were paid the right amount of money.

The company ended up with a deficit of Ksh 5 million and unfinished projects to a point that they had to ask friends and family for help.

"Initially, we had wanted to pay everyone and use the remainder to pay ourselves but this was not to be, we suffered a major loss," Mutua stated.

They were lucky enough to get another contract and part of the money they received was used pay up deficits that were needed for the other two shows.

Phil-It productions has produced a number of popular shows including; Undercover, Maempress, Sue and Johnny and Hullabaloo.

Mutua advised Kenyans to support the film industry in Kenya, indicating that producers went through a lot to ensure that their shows got on the screens.

Leading entrepreneurs advise startups to have a solid business plan which plays the role of determining future success.

Additionally, entrepreneurs encourage founders not to be tempted into blowing up the money on unnecessary expenses. 

"If a venture capital firm just handed the company a big, fat check, it may be expecting a big fat result very soon. No more fooling around. It’s time to get to work," John Rampton, an entrepreneur advises.

Watch Mutua's candid narration below:

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