At some point, every growing SaaS company faces the same question: do we hire someone in-house for video, or work with a studio? Here is an honest look at both.
The true cost of in-house
Hiring one mid-level motion designer means a full salary, plus software, plus benefits, plus the time to recruit and manage them, and plus the ramp-up before they ship anything great. And one person rarely covers strategy, scripting, animation, and sound, the full skill set a great video needs.
What a retainer gives you
A studio retainer gives you a whole team, strategist, scriptwriter, animators, project manager, for less than the cost of a single senior hire. There is no recruiting, no management overhead, and no ramp-up. You get consistent output from people who do this every day.
When in-house makes sense
To be fair: if you need video constantly, every single day, at very high volume, an in-house team can eventually make sense. But for most funded SaaS companies producing a steady flow of high-quality content, a retainer is faster, cheaper, and lower-risk.
The honest middle ground
Many companies do both: a studio for high-end production and campaigns, and a junior in-house person for quick edits. The point is to match the model to your actual needs, not to default to hiring because it feels permanent.
Want a team without the hire? Fill the form.
Follow me to keep in touch
Where I share my creative journey, design experiments, and industry thoughts.
