We were lucky to catch up with Robert Burn recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Robert thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
In 2014 I was working as a producer engineer, using various studios across London. Rates were expensive, and at the affordable end; the studios weren’t properly soundproofed, badly acoustically treated, and almost always lacked vibe. This was the catalyst for starting Ten87. I just needed a space to create that was fit for purpose. Ten87 is our attempt to build that.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me is undoubtedly the tremendous support we received at the beginning of our journey. In those early days, word of mouth was crucial, and some key friends within the vibrant London music scene played an integral role. Their unwavering support involved vouching for us within their network, championing our cause, and actively spreading the word about what we were striving to achieve. Their generosity and belief in our vision not only boosted our credibility but also laid the foundation for the success we’ve achieved since then. I am forever grateful for the kindness and support they extended during those pivotal moments.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
To be honest, our first clients were our friends. We were lucky that our network had grown and we had some amazing peers who were looking for exactly the situation we had been searching for. From there the work spread and pretty quickly we were under pressure to give up our own studio time to much more established creators. It was at this point I knew we were on to something.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Again, this was done via arming ourselves with the knowledge required in order to be able to succeed. Firstly we had to establish all the areas required to expand (Trying not to leave out any detail). I remember the diary was pretty mad ha!
The hardest part was most definitely securing a site large enough to meet our vision. We started with 2000ft2 of space and 6 studios. But our second site needed to host 35 studios, offices and an event space. Trying to convince landlords that we were going to pay our rent! Also quickly followed by how to fund the project. We needed to raise a lot more cash. By this time we had been appointed an incredible mentor – (Jeff Gilbert of the ELSBC). He helped us to secure match funded loan via the arts council with the rest coming from a loan from Haringey Council.
We were repeatedly told we couldn’t build what we were proposing on our budget. It was a long process which involved us taking on the project management of the entire project, and painstakingly working out the interior design. We delivered the project in 2017 and definitely proved a-lot of people wrong which felt good.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ten87.studio
- Instagram: @ten87studios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ten87studios/?locale=en_GB
- Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/ten-87-studios-ltd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpbBS0gcTQUgJcJMO0tLsVQ
Image Credits
Mann Bros Media