ECE major starts company with $2000 fellowship
Buckeye engineer Gautham Sivakumar used it to start his own company.
The third-year electrical and computer engineering major has always had a passion for photo and video editing. When he learned about the opportunity to pursue his creative endeavors through STEP, a program designed to help second-year students develop professionally and personally under faculty guidance, the wheels started turning.
“I knew that if I could get the funding, I could build my own computer and start my own business for something I enjoy—video editing,” Sivakumar said.
While working on his STEP funding proposal in class, Sivakumar caught the attention of chemical engineer and fellow member of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program, J.D. Coffey.
The two realized they shared an interest in multimedia and soon Sivakumar brought on Coffey to co-venture his company, Zenith Media Group.
“We noticed that there’s a lot of content creators who really don't put that much effort into the videos they create. That's what gave me the idea for the name ‘Zenith,’” said Sivakumar. “Even if we can’t put out as much content, we always put out the best.”
Meeting fellow engineering students like Coffey has given Sivakumar a new perspective of engineers.
“When you think of engineering majors, you have a specific idea of what that person’s going to be like,” Sivakumar said. “Having that in my head before coming to Ohio State and then seeing the variety of people in the major made me think. Yes I’m an engineer, but what do I like to do? What sets me apart from the crowd?”
Sivakumar built his computer at the start of summer 2014—a process that made him realize he wanted to switch his major from mechanical to electrical and computer engineering as soon as he returned to campus.
Within weeks of launching, the multimedia company quickly received its first paid assignments, producing wedding and family portraits in Cincinnati.
Now, Sivakumar said he wants to take his business in a different direction, aimed at helping budget-minded people, like college students, learn more about the technology they use. Zenith Media Group plans to record how-to videos, reviews and unboxings for new phones and laptops.
Sivakumar’s computer not only houses Zenith Media Group, it also acts as a server for Outdoor Uploads, a company started by two engineers he met during his summer internship at Intelligrated. Outdoor Uploads is an online social hub for people interested in sharing outdoors—and adventure—related videos.
For other hopeful entrepreneurs, Sivakumar‘s biggest advice is to follow your passion.
“Don't do something that you think is going to make money. Think about what you’d enjoy doing.”
Written by Karlie Frank
