From such viral hits as I Can Has Cheezburger to helpful tools like Walk Score, hundreds of startup companies have their roots in Seattle’s thriving entrepreneurial community. This Q&A is the second in a series of interviews with Seattle-area startups.

Ksenia Oustiougova, Founder and CEO of Lilipip Studios

When was Lilipip founded?
The idea for Lililip originated in 2005, and we incorporated on paper in 2007. But the actual business didn’t really take shape until the summer of 2008.

How and why did Lilipip get started?
How: It first started as an educational production company, and then changed to a filtered YouTube for kids. It was again reinvented last year into a network of independent artists producing animated videos for small businesses, startups and nonprofits — the “little people,” hence the name.

Why: I started Lilipip after being frustrated at not finding good content to teach my son both Russian and English. At first I didn’t think of it as a business; it was just something I did on the side.

What does Lilipip do?
We make animated videos about a company’s products, services or concept.

What makes your company unique?
We’re a network of independent artists. We advocate an open-source creative approach with transparent pricing and processes and direct links to the people we work with. Unlike traditional agencies, we make business fun and deliver fun with a predictable price and a guaranteed date.

How do you (or how to you hope to) make money?
We’ve “productized” the service, and that is what we are selling: one minute of animation, with various degrees of production complexity to fit various company stages – bootstrapping, funded, growing and established.

What’s been the biggest challenge for Lilipip?
Getting out of the credit card debt that helped start the company.

What is Lilipip focusing on for the future? Where do you think the company will be in five years? 10 years?
We’re looking at being a leader in the open-source creative approach, and we’re striving to become the company that revolutionizes the way the creative industry has been always viewed. We’re basically stripping the black box of mystery from the creative process, exposing how it is really being done.

What do you predict will be the next big thing in digital media?
I see the biggest disruption coming in how businesses represent themselves. Static business Web sites (both online and mobile) will literally shift to “channels” showing the business’s day-to-day activities from the inside out, and allowing visitors, customers and shareholders to interact with anyone in the company directly.

What’s your favorite gadget or application right now?
BatchBook, for all of our CRM needs, plus it integrates with Basecamp for project management. We also use FreshBooks for invoicing and MailChimp for newsletters.

How has the Seattle startup culture affected your company?
I am originally from Russia, so the Seattle community largely made me an entrepreneur. I would not be where I am right now if not for numerous people who provided me with free advice, support and tips and tricks over countless chats over countless cups of coffee all over Seattle.

What’s your advice for wannabe entrepreneurs?
Be yourself and do what you love doing, no matter what anyone tells you. If you stay true to yourself, you will find your niche and be successful. And follow me on Twitter @lilipip – let’s chat!

A former managing editor at Microsoft, Mary Janisch is a freelance editorial consultant and a second-year student in the MCDM program.

Want to suggest a company for Flip the Media’s Startup City series? E-mail flipmcdm@uw.edu.