When founder Ibrahim Zafar worried about maintaining his company’s growth, he got creative.

He had started his video production company Lens End Media at age 27, in March 2020, and rode an unexpected wave of initial success during the virtual years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two years later, that wave began to ebb. He’d already worked his way through his personal referral network as a way of bringing in new business, and he didn’t have the clout or experience to cold call marketing managers at large companies.

“When you’re that young, you don’t have a lot of friends in high places,” he said. “I knew that I wasn’t able to make those big phone calls yet in my career.”

So he decided to lean on his company’s online presence to bring in leads. He hired a contractor to optimize their website for search, but he didn’t have the deep pockets necessary to bring in a top-tier web designer.

That didn’t stop Zafar.

He approached digital marketing agency Kale & Flax and offered a barter — if they built a quality website for Lens End, he would produce a documentary they wanted.

They agreed, and the result was a website far superior to what Zafar had previously built using WordPress and Photoshop.

The lead-generation strategy worked. Clients began finding Lens End through Google.

“We got a pretty large contract from the NBA just because an intern in Manhattan decided to Google ‘video production company in D.C.,’” he said. “That was a really substantial contract.”

By 2023, at least half of Zafar’s clientele came from online leads rather than personal connections, he said. By 2024, Lens End Media was bringing in 7 figures in annual sales, with more than 50 customers, including big names like Walgreens and LEGO group.

And the professional website drew in more than clients.

“That’s actually what ended up attracting our acquirer,” Zafar said. “They were like, ‘Hey, your brand is really good’” — especially for a company of its size.

Lens End Media was acquired by Florida-based strategic marketing company BrandStar in May 2024. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The early years of Lens End Media

Zafar founded Lens End Media after encouragement from his wife, shortly after they married. He had taught himself video production by watching YouTube tutorials in his spare time while working as a government consultant at Accenture in the Washington, D.C., area. Late one night in February 2020, Zafar’s wife pushed him to take the risk.

“Do this before you have kids,” she told him. “It’s going to be harder to take risks when we have kids.”

With no clients in the pipeline and no spare money in the bank — and no idea how the world was about to change — Zafar turned in his notice the next day.

Ten days later, the world started shutting down.

To Zafar’s surprise, more and more companies began turning to video when so many parts of society went virtual.

“COVID was actually kind of an accelerator,” he said. “Everyone was talking about video.”

Zafar’s background as a consultant was a huge asset. Since he was accustomed to helping others adjust to new concepts and systems, he could help clients with no video experience learn how to maximize the medium for their purposes.

“It was a land grab for anyone who was able to do that,” he said.

Sales multiplied each year and hit 7 figures within four years. By October 2023, he felt ready to merge his company, with its six employees and about 40 contractors, into a larger entity.

So he signed on with brokerage Merge (previously Barney), and was soon combing through about 70 interested buyers. BrandStar, a production and marketing agency, stood out as a good fit for helping Lens End Media scale up.

Less than three weeks before the May 2024 sale, Zafar was scouring a 50-page disclosure document at a hospital while his wife was in labor with their first child, and he remembered her advice to take a risk before kids came along.

“It’s like the circular nature of life,” he said. “You let go at the right time.”

The perks of merging with a larger team

Some founders prefer going it alone; for Zafar, the security of a larger firm and experienced team was a relief, helping balance his mental load between work and a newborn at home. As part of a larger ecosystem of companies, Zafar said he is no longer sitting up late at night worrying about how to get clients.

BrandStar’s leaders have become like mentors to him, helping shepherd his vision for Lens End Media into the future as he collaborates with other units within the company. “We’re all chasing after clients together,” he said. “I’m able to now have a team where I can bounce ideas back and forth.”

The larger team was also a perk for his employees, in Zafar’s view. “They feel like they’re a part of a bigger thing as well, which is what I always wanted,” he said. “I didn’t want them to just rely on me for their career growth.”

Looking forward, Zafar said he isn’t done taking risks, and he has advice for would-be entrepreneurs: Take the leap.

“At some point their parachute will open, and they will have a soft landing — or a hard landing — but they will land,” he said. “Take a risk, life is short.”