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Social media influencers have evolved from promoting brands to becoming one in recent years. A new report by Kalaari Capital suggests that there are around 80 million online content creators in India, and 200K of them are full-time professional creators.

Another report by Influencer Marketing reveals that the influencer industry is set to grow at a CAGR rate of 5% and reach Rs 2,200 crore by 2025. But how did social media shift from gaining followers to building entrepreneurs, and what exactly is driving this surge?

Let’s deep dive into understanding how content creators and influencers are becoming entrepreneurs.

How social media influencers in India are making waves

Influencers have always had a strong presence on various channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. This community has seen a massive surge as influencers are earning a stable income. According to Kalaari Capital’s report, creators who have followers between 10,000 to 10 lakh earn around Rs 16,000 per month to Rs 2 lakhs per month. 

Those influencers who have more than 10 lakh followers earn approximately between Rs 2- 52 lakhs every month. These numbers are strong enough to show how content creators are slowly shifting to building a personal brand and making it their primary source of income.

With already successful creator-entrepreneurs like Prajakta Koli, Aanam Chashmawala, Sanjyot Keer, Jyotii Sethi, etc, Indian social media influencers are joining the race to build their own brands or start their ventures.

Creators turned entrepreneurs in India

Shivangi Sharma

Shivangi Sharma and her husband Arjun Sengupta have been creating content related to lifestyle, beauty, comedy, etc on YouTube. In 2022, the couple decided to launch Snacc Cosmetics, a startup that sells quality and affordable makeup tools. So far, the business has clocked Rs 14.7 lakh in revenue and has 14 stock-keeping units.

Sanjyot Keer

Mumbai-based Sanjyot Keer was recruited as a food producer in the popular cook show Masterchef India. He soon debuted on YouTube with his channel called Your Food Lab in 2016.

After building a community of more than 13 million followers across all social media channels, he started his own brand YFL Home which sells kitchen and home appliances. Sanjyot launched YFL Home in partnership with a company House of X which was founded by content creator Raj Shamani.

Himadri Patel

Himadri Patel is a 26-year-old creator who quit her job at Infosys and became a fashion and lifestyle influencer on YouTube. Inspired by her grandmother, she started recently started her ethnic clothing brand called Dri by Himadri.

Ranveer Allahbadia

Ranveer Allahbadia aka BeerBiceps is a well-known face in the digital world. He started his journey as a content creator in 2015 to promote his fitness startup but soon became a full-time YouTuber. Gradually, Ranveer covered various topics such as personal finance, entrepreneurship, mental health, fashion, etc.

With his YouTube fame, he needed a manager to handle his brand collaborations and finances. So, he along with Viraj Seth whom he has known since college started the company “Monk Entertainment” in 2018.

He is running a successful podcast show called “The Ranveer Show” where famous personalities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, A.R Rahman, Saif Ali Khan, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, etc.