All good things start with an idea. Manish Shrestha and Kreeti Shakya, both of whom are in their 30s now, came to Kathmandu with a dream to bring a creative edge to marketing in Nepal. After working for a few years in the U.S they realized that there was a need for a ‘paradigm shift’ in the marketing sector back in their country. There was a gap between the creative minds and the communications sector. To fill in this vacuum and to provide a platform for innovative talents the duo started their own venture, the Kazi Studios.
Yet the hurdles in their pioneering journey were unending. The idea of people being paid for their creativity was not established in Nepal when they first forayed into the world of designing and marketing. “Many companies were reluctant to invest on designing. They didn’t understand why it was important,” says Shrestha. Even the system of payment did not have a set standard. In a developing country like our own, apparently there are no concrete laws in the areas of design and marketing. This created a great impediment in their work. However, their passion to work and their determination to expand the horizon of creativity and originality kept them going.
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Today, Kazi Studios aims to bring together committed individuals who innovatively solve complex problems through design and technology. Their assorted team comprises of students from a variety of fields, engineers, and women who dream of bringing about change. This enthusiastic group of individuals not only believes in constructing new ideas but in making ideas happen.
Shrestha and Shakya are all for testing the waters and crossing boundaries. They believe ‘dreamers’ and young entrepreneurs need to explore new fields in order to be catalysts of change, in whichever field they desire. Both believe that there are ample avenues to explore in Kathmandu and outside and that everything is possible if you have the will to implement your ideas. “Go out, explore and go crazy about ideas,” says Shakya. “That is what will make you different from others,” she adds.
