Tech Layoffs to Film Success: Launching a Video Production Company
- Viknesh Silvalingam
- Mar 1
- 3 min read
After three layoffs despite hitting every metric as a Customer Success Manager, I discovered my path: co-founding Hazy Coast Productions, a video production company that combines CSM strategy with narrative filmmaking. Here's how tech job loss led to building a sustainable video production business focused on brand videos, testimonial videos, and event content for tech companies.
I moved to San Francisco in 2009 for film school. That was the plan. That was always the plan.
But by 2014, rent was astronomical, and passion projects don't pay bills. So I did what thousands of creatives do; I got a job in tech. First in Support, then as a Customer Success Manager. The pay was stable. It let me live in one of the world's most expensive cities while making independent films on nights and weekends.
For nearly a decade, that was my life: day job in tech, filmmaker in the margins. Then came three layoffs.
Here's what made it absurd, and ultimately liberating: I hit every individual metric. I was employee of the month. I managed my quota at the highest level. But I still got cut. Three times. Not because of performance. Because of perception. Because tech hiring and firing don't care how good you are at your job.
By the third layoff, something shifted. Relief. Like someone had finally permitted me to stop choosing survival over purpose.
Four CSM Skills That Built My Video Production Company
What I learned in ten years of Customer Success Management is something most filmmakers never develop: how to understand complex business problems and deliver measurable outcomes.
I developed four core competencies that now fuel everything we do at Hazy Coast Productions:
Problem-Solving — I learned to identify what's actually holding customers back and find resourceful solutions. Now, every video is engineered to solve a specific business problem.
Leadership and Vision — I guided customers toward their goals by understanding where they wanted to go, then charting a path to get there. Same approach with creative projects.
Organizational Skills — Managing complex customer success required coordinating multiple moving parts, stakeholders, and timelines. That translates directly to production coordination and execution.
Strategic Thinking — Most importantly, I learned to think in terms of business objectives and ROI. That's the CSM mindset: outcomes matter more than outputs.
How Hazy Coast Productions Combines Video Production with ROI Strategy
Six months ago, I co-founded Hazy Coast Productions with a long-time collaborator. We create brand videos, testimonial videos, and event content for tech companies. But here's what sets us apart: we don't hand off the finished video and call it done.
We own the full journey, production, and distribution strategy. We develop the social media deployment. We track the metrics that prove ROI. Because a beautifully crafted video that no one sees isn't a win. It's just an expensive file.
When we sit down with a client, we ask: "What business outcome do you need?" Is it brand credibility? Customer proof? Event amplification? Once we understand the objective, we engineer everything toward it, the narrative, the visuals, the messaging, and critically, where and how it gets distributed.
We understand the tech industry from the inside. We've lived through the problems. We know what actually drives change in organizations. And we know how to tell stories that move people and position them for maximum impact.
Full Circle
I came to San Francisco as a filmmaker in 2009. I took a job in tech to afford to live here. Three layoffs freed me to do what I came here to do.
Now, I'm building Hazy Coast Productions with a collaborator I trust, creating brand videos, testimonial videos, and event content that drives real business outcomes for tech companies. And I'm still making independent films. Both are happening. Both matter.
For the first time in a decade, I'm not choosing between survival and purpose. I'm not squeezing creative work into the margins. I get to do both, build a sustainable business and pursue the narrative filmmaking that originally brought me to San Francisco.
Three layoffs. One unwavering purpose. One incredible partner. And the freedom to tell stories on my terms. Both as a filmmaker and as a creative director, solving business problems through compelling content.
If you're a tech company looking to create brand videos, testimonial videos, or event content that drives ROI, Hazy Coast Productions combines filmmaking expertise with CSM-driven strategy. [Contact us to discuss your project →www.hazycoastproductions.com]
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