At 15, she’s not bossy, but she is the boss. It has been over a year since Sindhuja Rajaraman became the CEO of animation company Seppan Entertainment. The transition from school to office was, in a word, “strange,” the youngster admits.
If you’re wondering how this CEO manages academics and the pressures of deadlines and clients, here is the answer most kids would dream of. “It’s simple,” smiles Sindhuja. “I don’t attend any classes.” She clarifies, “Of course, I do study hard to write my exams.” Between meeting a bunch of friends who regularly ask for ‘office gossip’ and heading her five member team (aged 20 – 45), life is full.
So how did it all happen? For starters, this teen entrepreneur has never attended a single animation class. “My father started teaching me the basics of animation when I was 10,” she recalls, her large earrings jingling as she explains. She points at them playfully and giggles, “Yeah they don’t this in school, see...” Sindhuja goes back to her story. “Last year, I attempted a Guinness Record by making a three minute animation film on global warming in 10 hours.” She completed the job in eight hours instead. That was when Kumaran Mani, head of IT company First Planet, decided to set up a meeting. “I remember I went with my father to meet him the next day. He was talking about creativity and talent – and all of a sudden he said ‘You’re going to be a CEO’.”
So far, there have been animated short films on social issues, jewellery commercials and even a greeting card designed for US President, Barack Obama. However, her present project – a virtual T Nagar, or ‘V Nagar’ as she likes to call it, is her biggest challenge yet. “This will be great for advertisers who have shops there,” she says, sounding like a grown up.
Apart from a virtual map of the streets and shops, the team is working on animated products and also models to showcase them. Sindhuja says with enthusiasm, “If you can have Sneha posing in an advertisement on the big screen, why can’t an animated Mary or Seema do it on your computer screen?”
Sindhuja hopes to start a company of her own by the time she turns 20. “I’m still not completely in charge,” she admits and laughs, “my dad picks out my clothes for the office everyday — no T-shirts allowed!”