After graduating from Edwardsburg High School in 2012, good friends Doug Kessler and Andrew Reynolds knew that they had talent that needed an outlet, so they created a multi-media business that they ran out of their respective dorm rooms in college, Reynolds at Michigan State University and Kessler at Grand Valley State University.

Five years later, that business is called DNA Creative and the pair has recently opened up a physical shop in Elkhart, Indiana. A ribbon cutting ceremony, planned by the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, is set for Sept. 7.

“After college, we looked at our portfolio and our clients and thought that it was time to go forward on this venture,” Kessler said.

DNA Creative, which stands for Doug and Andrew Creative, is a video production and social media management company. Though the company originally began by primarily doing wedding videography, the business has expanded to providing video and social media management services to companies, both large and small.

“We like to highlight ourselves as a marketing firm with an emphasis in social media and video production,” Kessler said. “Those are our staples.”

The pair’s business also allows companies to market themselves on a digital platform, Reynolds said.

“Anyone large or small that is interested in promoting themselves, anyone that needs any kind of video production done for their company or any type of social media advertising, we would help with that,” Kessler said.

Kessler and Reynolds met in the seventh grade in Edwardsburg Public Schools and have been “best buds” ever since, Kessler said.

As they were raised and became friends in Edwardsburg, the village will always be important to who they are as people and as business partners, they said.

“Edwardsburg is a very community oriented village,” Kessler said. “We’ve stayed in contact with many personal and professional friends to the point where it has really molded us into being able to go out and talk to other people.”

Both Kessler and Reynolds specifically cited the Edwardsburg Public School system as giving them many of the skills they needed to survive in the business world.

“I truly do not believe Andrew and I would be in the position we are in if we hadn’t had the great leadership we received there,” Kessler said.

Despite their fondness for Edwardsburg, the pair decided to anchor their business in Elkhart, Indiana for real estate reasons. However, Kessler said the new location is central enough that they can still work with clients from Edwardsburg. This seems to be true as clients of DNA Creative include the Edwardsburg Sports Complex and the Edwardsburg Public Schools Foundation.

“We are in a good location where we can serve Edwardsburg, as well and Elkhart, Granger, Mishawaka and South Bend,” Kessler said. “These communities can work seamlessly together just because they are in close proximity.”

As both Kessler and Reynolds are only 23 years old, they are young for their industry, but they do not view that as an obstacle. In fact, Reynolds said, it is an asset for them and their company.

“People like the fact that we are younger, because they kind of see us as digital experts because we grew up with it,” Reynolds said. “Older businesses, it helps them to have some new blood.”

Kessler said that it is running this business together as two young professionals that has kept him and Reynolds close in the years since high school.

Though the two have always gotten along well and both believe they would still be friends even if DNA Creative never existed, Kessler said that the business has played a role in maintaining their friendship.

“Andrew and I work really well together be it outside of the business or inside of the business,” Kessler said. “But with the distance between Lansing and Grand Rapids, [DNA Creative] has bonded us together in a friendship way and a professional way.”

With their steady background as friends and business partners, Kessler and Reynolds said they are constantly talking about the future of DNA Creative and different ways they can grow their business.

“Quite honestly, we just want to grow within video production and the digital social media world,” Kessler said. “We are really passionate about other businesses growing and helping them to grow through those mediums.”