So many brands are not reaching their full potential – because they are not able to express themselves; this realization informed Kuteesa’s decision of breathing life into the brands.
Today in The Youthful Friday, we feature the last born of four who acted according to his gut to do what he loves and in the end up getting attention from those around him to take up the services he was offering.
Kuteesa Joseph Nathan is a photographer, graphic designer, and filmmaker- currently the team lead of Fancy Media and Choros Avenue (Space Media). Having been homeschooled for his early childhood and primary education, he went to Masaka Secondary School for his Ordinary Level and St. Henry’s College Kitovu for a high school diploma. Currently, he is in his final year of University – pursuing a Bachelors Degree in business administration – majoring in marketing at Makerere University Business School (MUBS).
On whether he learnt what he does from school, Kuteesa confesses to having got hands-on ideas from a mentor. “I learnt photography from a mentor (Andrew Katende) and Graphic design from YouTube Videos.”
Having worked with over 30+ Brands and built over 15 from the ground up, Kuteesa’s sole idea was conceived 2nd March 2019. Many thanks to the socialization solidarity between Trinity College Nabbingo and St. Henry’s College Kitovu, he was able to give birth to the idea from the duo.
“It was a day we had the social occasion (popularly known as SOSH or PROM) between Trinity Collage Nabbingo and St. Henry’s College Kitovu. We had an amazing photography team that covered the occasion and their sense of art and ability to create beauty inspired me.”
Kuteesa went ahead to invest in his new passion. “Well, as far as I know, I didn’t really put money up to start. All I know I was investing in my passion. I spent a million shillings on my first camera. From there, I realized I could put my hands to good use in design communication – and I started learning graphics design during the first COVID period (Around March 2020). Fancy Media (As a media company) was born on the 5th of June 2021 – when we made our first social media post on Instagram. We went ahead to have the business registered by end of 2021, and from then; we haven’t looked back.”
From its inception, he has been able to work on projects across 3 countries. Having been able to operate for over a year fully, he employs three people on full-time basis: and 5 others on a part-time basis.
He has been supported by his parents Mr and Mrs Musoke through the journey. “My parents invested a couple of hundred thousand to see that I take part in the Camera In The Smiling Sun competition. I also spent around three hundred thousand shillings on my first laptop. It was a refurbished HP Dual Core off Jiji.” Says Nathan.
“I went ahead to purchase a camera that year and printed some business cards under the name (Fancy Photo. I was lucky enough to be called upon by my photography mentor (Andrew Kartende) to participate in a photography competition by a Dutch Foundation Camera In The Smiling Sun (www.smilingsun.nl). I was able to emerge among the top 4 chosen amateur photographers to take part in a yearlong internship.”
Even with challenges such as building business systems and reliable teams, he has been able to push through and promises to do this until he achieved his dream of being the leading advertising firm on the continent.’
He advises the youths with startups to register with the government and adhere to any regulations specific to the industry. “Obtaining the necessary licenses, permits, and qualifications is also critical. Finally, it’s important to create a budget and stick with it, so you know how much money you have to spend and what kind of profits you can expect.”
He also emphasizes the use of digitalization to push brands. “Social Media especially Instagram at the start was an amazing channel through which we created awareness. The day on which we made our first post – in June; was the day before the second lockdown was announced in Uganda. So; we managed to have three months of creating content and pushing awareness of our brand to a market that was glued on their phones during that period.”
Kuteesa calls on the governments to ensure that their fiscal policies are responsible and sustainable and that they provide adequate regulation to protect businesses from unfair practices. He stresses that this will help to create an environment where businesses have the best chance to succeed and grow.
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