From founder to creator: The rise of a new breed of influencers in the creator economy

The chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra, Anand Mahindra is the second most followed entrepreneur on X (formerly Twitter) with 10.9 million followers, behind industrialist Ratan Tata, who has 12.7 million followers.

``Founders as influencers or content creators have burst upon the scene in a big way, especially in the past two years,’’ said Chirag Jain, Co-founder, SocialTAG, a marketing and talent management agency.

Also read: Bengaluru has highest job postings for 'influencers', content creators in India: Survey

“This new breed of influencers often brings a unique perspective, authenticity, and first-hand experience in building and scaling businesses. Their content majorly revolves around entrepreneurship, leadership and the BTS (behind the scenes) of running a business, serving a wide audience that is interested in entrepreneurship,” he added.

Recently, Kunal Shah, Founder of fintech firm Cred, held an 'ask me anything’ (AMA) session on Instagram, which sparked a lot of chatter on social media. Among other things, he had revealed his salary during that interaction.

“Founders today understand that having their own brand presence and personality, separate from the enterprise they lead, is crucial. This shift in approach includes having opinions on professional networking platforms like LinkedIn, and adopting a more casual, conversational tone on platforms like Instagram,” said Ramya Ramachandran, Founder and CEO of influencer marketing firm Whoppl.

LinkedIn is increasingly becoming a platform where founders, startups, and professionals are trying to establish a more personable online presence, noted Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, an influencer marketing platform.

Nithin Kamath, brother of Nikhil and Co-Founder of Zerodha, believes story-telling is an important part of being an entrepreneur, and it was in 2019 when he realised that it's important to build one's own personal brand, leading him to join X and LinkedIn.

Also read: From being actors to entrepreneurs, social media influencers are going beyond brand deals

His brother Nikhil went a step further and joined YouTube in February this year and has created around 174 videos on his channel. He also runs a podcast show called WTF on the platform. In his show, he has discussed a range of topics, from metaverse to what’s happening in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, with viewership going from 4,85,000 views for the first episode, to 1.6 million views for one of the latest episodes.

“I am a big fan of podcasts of (Cred Founder) Kunal Shah and Nikhil Kamath. What you learn from these talks can’t be learned anywhere else. I consume this now,’’ said Niraj Bora, founder of financial services firm Surmount Business Advisors.

A new entrant on YouTube is Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of OYO Rooms.

Key opinion leaders

Experts in the influencer marketing space say these founder-creators are key opinion leaders (KOLs).

"Brands are differentiating between content creators and KOLs, which are people who have a following by virtue of what they have done in life, like Ritesh Agarwal, Nikhil Kamath, etc. People follow them for their thought leadership. KOLs understand that their opinions matter," explained Sagar Pushp, CEO and Co-Founder of ClanConnect, an influencer marketing platform.

Also read: Creator Economy Summit: Financial content is good for market; it should be regulated but not banned, say experts

Pushp said that many of the founders fall in the mega influencer category as they have managed to attract a big audience on social media platforms.

“The engagement rate and reach of their content is higher. For regular content creators, an engagement rate of 3-5 percent is the benchmark. For founder-influencers,  it is 7-8 percent. Almost double,” he said.

Kumar, however, feels their reach is limited. “The impact of founder-influencers seems to be somewhat limited at this stage. While there are some success stories, the impact is not yet widespread. The content revolves around success mantras and stories of funding and big successes, but its reach is constrained by geographic and audience-specific factors.”

Other notable founders on social media include Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder of BharatPe; Kamiya Jani, Founder, Curly Tales; and Varun Duggirala, Co-Founder and Content Chief of The Glitch, says Karan Pherwani, Vice President, Chtrbox, an influencer marketing firm.

“Ashneer is known for engaging in discussions and updates related to the fintech industry and BharatPe on X. Kamiya’s content typically revolves around travel and lifestyle experiences. Ankur has a strong following on LinkedIn and Twitter, where he shares insights on entrepreneurship and life. And Varun enjoys a substantial following on Instagram and Twitter, where he shares his perspectives on creativity and advertising,” Pherwani said.

Jain said that more entrepreneurs are recognising the potential of sharing their stories and insights on digital platforms.

Some, like Ankur Warikoo, Founder of Nearbuy, have transitioned from showcasing their businesses' success stories to adopting mentor-like roles, said Kumar.

Also read: Financial influencers ask for clear guidelines from Sebi, bat for certification for creators

“Younger startup leaders and those who have experienced past successes presenting themselves as influencers is another trend. The Shark Tank panel is a prime example of individuals building personalities around themselves. Many founders are humanising themselves on platforms like LinkedIn to become more relatable,” he added.

Brand interest

Brands are taking note of this new category of influencers.

“There are a lot of brands who have repeatedly reached out to us with regard to specific platforms for key opinion leaders or founder-influencers. In the last year or so, we have reached out to these Co-Founders, CEOs, CXOs to voice their opinion on certain things. When brands are looking to promote on a specific platform they always prefer KOLs because their voices matter a lot. Auto, finance, or for any of high involvement products, brands reach out to founder-influencers,” said Pushp.

He added that they have worked on brand campaigns with founders who have a following in the range of 20,000-30,000 on X.

“Brands come and ask us to reach out to Nikhil Kamath. But he is not open to any kind of collaboration. So clearly, the founder-influencers are not doing it for money. Also, most of the time, they  are clear that until and unless they believe in the product, they won't promote it. They associate with brands only after validating the claims the brands are making,” Pushp explained.

Growing competition

The competition in the influencer marketing space has intensified as a result of the rise of founder-influencers, said Sumit Gupta, Founder, Viral Pitch, an influencer marketing firm. He added that brands now have to navigate a more competitive market.

“With the burgeoning interest in entrepreneurship, the space attracts newcomers aiming to share insights and establish their presence. Established figures compete for attention with a growing pool of aspirants. To maintain relevance, founder-influencers must evolve, offer distinct perspectives, and cultivate authentic connections,” noted Yulia Aslamova, Head of Asia, DRIM Global, an influencer agency.

More founders are recognising the potential of personal branding and content creation, making the space more dynamic, said Ramachandran. “This competition is healthy, driving innovation and diversity in content. It challenges founders to refine their storytelling skills and find unique ways to stand out in a crowded digital landscape,” she added.

On the other hand, Viraj Sheth, CEO and Co-Founder, Monk Entertainment, a talent management agency (added)  said that there’s no competition as such because founders don’t do this for a living. “All that founders want to do is educate audiences about startups, and various aspects of entrepreneurship. They are making content to simply reach out to a wider audience and build their own distribution.”