Self Hired

Video Production Servicesselfhired.com

Self Hired is a privately held Canadian boutique content studio in Vancouver and Toronto providing videography, photography, podcast, and documentary production services to enterprise brands, SMBs, and nonprofit clients on a project basis.

Company typePrivate
Founded2011
HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Self Hired does

Self Hired is a privately held, founder-controlled Canadian content production studio founded in 2011 and operating from Vancouver and Toronto. The company provides professional videography (narrative, documentary, commercial, social, BTS, product/ecommerce, lifestyle, brand, corporate), photography (lifestyle, brand, product/ecommerce, creative), full-service podcast production (in-studio, on-site, and remote; audio and video), documentary production, and a Content Strategy / blueprint consultation offering. Its underlying capability is craft-driven, human-talent production rather than a software platform; there are no disclosed AI/ML components, proprietary technology, or productized software assets. The technology stack is conventional production tooling (cameras, studio facilities, Vimeo for reel hosting, Squarespace for web).

The business model is project-based professional services. Pricing is custom and quote-driven, with no publicly disclosed rate cards or tiered packages; clients request quotes through a website contact form or via [email protected]. Revenue is generated across four streams: Videography Services, Photography Services, Podcast Production, and Content Strategy Consultation, all billed per project scope. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and portfolio-driven, relying on the website's video reels, case studies, and client testimonials (CBC, OEB Breakfast, JOEY Restaurant Group, Urbanarium, Nemesis Coffee, Tristar) plus referrals to attract new work. Distribution is direct-to-client with no intermediary channels, and the company advertises availability to travel beyond its two home cities.

Self Hired serves a horizontally diversified customer base spanning enterprise brands (CBC, Foot Locker, Skillshare, JOEY Restaurant Group), small and medium businesses (Nemesis Coffee, Dank Mart, LPE Studio), and nonprofit / cultural organizations (Urbanarium, Music BC, Sick Boy Crew). Leadership comprises founder/creative director Kevin Wong, co-founder/producer Mike Smaill, and partner/producer/host Summan Kandola. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, institutional investors, or external ownership; it operates as a lean, 1-10 employee boutique studio.

Self Hired firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Self Hired
Legal name: Self Hired
Website: https://selfhired.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2011
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Self Hired is a privately held Canadian boutique content studio in Vancouver and Toronto providing videography, photography, podcast, and documentary production services to enterprise brands, SMBs, and nonprofit clients on a project basis.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Self Hired industry classification

Industry

Product category: Video Production Services
NAICS: Motion Picture and Video Production (51211), Commercial Photography (541922), Sound Recording Studios (512240)
SIC: Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
akta.pro primary industry: Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)
akta.pro secondary industry: Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production) (MPAAAHAD)

Keywords

Video production services
Documentary filmmaking
Brand content creation
Podcast production services
Commercial photography

Where Self Hired is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Vancouver
HQ country: Canada
HQ region: North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

Self Hired business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

Videography Services: Project-based production services including narrative, documentary, commercial, social media content, BTS, product/ecommerce, lifestyle, brand, and corporate videography. Revenue generated through custom project quotes.
Photography Services: Product/ecommerce and creative photography services billed per project.
Podcast Production: Full-service podcast production including in-studio, on-site, and remote production; video and audio podcast series; single and multi-host formats.
Content Strategy Consultation: Blueprint consultation model helping clients clarify audience targeting, content consumption habits, and optimal content strategy.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Multi-year contract	Custom project-based pricing

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Self Hired product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Self Hired is an award-winning production studio that creates brand and human stories through documentaries, commercials, and cinematic brand content. The company delivers project-based videography, photography, podcast production, and documentary filmmaking services to enterprise brands, SMBs, and nonprofit organizations from its Vancouver and Toronto studios, with availability for travel. A content strategy consultation practice complements production work by helping clients define audience targeting and content plans.

Product overview

Self Hired is an award-winning production team specializing in brand and human storytelling through documentary, commercial, and cinematic brand content. The company operates as a unified production services provider offering four core services: Videography (narrative, documentary, commercial, social, BTS, product/ecommerce, lifestyle, brand, corporate), Photography (lifestyle, brand, product/ecommerce, creative), Podcast Production (audio-only and video podcast series, in-studio and remote), and Documentary Production. These services are supported by a Content Strategy practice. The portfolio includes specific product lines such as Lifestyle Reel, Narrative Reel, Lifestyle Product Reel, and Product Reel (under Videography); and documentary projects Identity of Wellness, One Million Trees, and Monday Motivation. Podcast offerings span multiple shows including The Forum - The Go To, SISOSIG, All Things Renovation, Myodetox, thinkspace, and The Karin Bohn Podcast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Videography Services Professional video production services covering narrative, documentary, commercial, social media, behind-the-scenes, product/ecommerce, lifestyle, brand, and corporate content, delivered through project-based engagements and showcased via reel collections on Vimeo.
Photography Services Lifestyle, brand, and product photography services, including product/ecommerce and creative photography billed per project for SMBs, brands, and cultural organizations.
Podcast Production Full-service podcast production including in-studio, on-site, and remote production; video and audio podcast series; single and multi-host formats. The studio produces shows such as The Forum - The Go To, SISOSIG, All Things Renovation, Myodetox, thinkspace, and The Karin Bohn Podcast.
Documentary Production Documentary filmmaking services producing brand and human stories, including original documentary projects Identity of Wellness, One Million Trees, and Monday Motivation.
Content Strategy Blueprint consultation model helping clients clarify audience targeting, content consumption patterns, online presence, sales and promotion goals, and optimal content strategy based on business stage.

Quantifiable outcome

400% increase in followers for Urbanarium since working with Self Hired

Companies that use Self Hired

Customer profile

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Self Hired technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Self Hired partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Self Hired competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Emerging players

Arboretum Films: Boutique commercial/documentary production studio producing brand films and original documentary content. Comparable in emphasis on documentary storytelling and brand human-interest work, though smaller in scale than Self Hired.

Direct peers

Procedure Films: Independent commercial and brand-content production house producing cinematic work for agencies and direct-to-brand clients. Overlaps with Self Hired on narrative/documentary-style commercial work and enterprise brand clients.
Lemonlight: On-demand video production and photography marketplace/agency connecting brands with vetted crews for commercial content. Comparable to Self Hired in core offering (videography, photography, brand content) though distributed at greater scale across geographies.
Coolfire Studios: Boutique video production studio offering brand, documentary, and commercial content for enterprises. Directly comparable to Self Hired in service mix (videography, photography, branded storytelling) and target customer (enterprise brands seeking cinematic content).
Tavern (taverncreative.com): Creative video and photo production studio producing brand films, commercials, and social content for enterprise marketers. Same boutique-studio model, similar deliverable mix, similar client verticals (F&B, retail, hospitality).
Mekanic: Full-service production company offering creative development, video, photography, and post-production for brand and marketing teams. Closely aligned business model and deliverable set to Self Hired's content studio positioning.

Regional players

Sweater Ventures / The Documentary Group: North-American documentary and branded-content production house producing long-form documentary work for broadcasters and brands. Comparable to Self Hired's documentary practice (Identity of Wellness, One Million Trees, Monday Motivation).

Broad incumbents

Tasty (BuzzFeed): High-volume food and lifestyle video production operation that combines branded video, social content, and recipe/photography work. Comparable in vertical specialization (food/lifestyle/brand) and deliverable mix to Self Hired's lifestyle/product reels.
Insider Inc. (Insider Studios): Large-scale brand-content and video production operation producing thousands of pieces of branded video for enterprise clients. Broad incumbent offering overlapping services in commercial brand video, social content, and podcast/video production.
HubSpot (Content Studio / Customer Story productions): Larger SaaS/marketing platform with internal content and documentary production capabilities for brand storytelling and customer stories. Adjacent broad incumbent doing brand documentary and video work at scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Self Hired financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Self Hired leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Self Hired funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Self Hired M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Self Hired

What does Self Hired do?

Is Self Hired a public or private company?

Self Hired is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was Self Hired founded?

Self Hired was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Self Hired based?

Self Hired is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.

How does Self Hired make money?

Four revenue lines are on record. Videography Services are the primary driver. The others are photography Services, podcast Production and content Strategy Consultation.

Who are Self Hired's main competitors?

Arboretum Films is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Procedure Films, Lemonlight, Coolfire Studios, Tavern (taverncreative.com) and Mekanic. Sweater Ventures / The Documentary Group is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Tasty (BuzzFeed), Insider Inc. (Insider Studios) and HubSpot (Content Studio / Customer Story productions).

Does Self Hired have an API?

No public API is recorded for Self Hired.

What industry is Self Hired in?

Self Hired's product category is Video Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAIAJ, Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams), with a secondary code of MPAAAHAD, Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production). Its NAICS code is 51211 and its SIC code is 7812.