Creators need business enablers..not more tools..
Recently there was news that Mr. Beast, a very popular American YouTube creator is raising funds at a valuation of USD 1.5 billion. The creator has streams of revenues which includes a chain of burger joints which pulls in revenue to the tune of millions of dollars.
The question naturally shifts to what Indian creators are up to, the revenues they are pulling in, whether they are capable of pulling in millions and whether they are investable yet or not.
Assuming the current situation, I don’t think scaling to those numbers are easy, we live in a very different environment in terms of having that kind of disposable income or even having that mentality to spend on goods that we want and not need. There are enough numbers on the internet to justify this claim which can be extrapolated from our GDP numbers, from the per capita income and so forth. The good part however is that we are going to get there. The trajectory hints at reaching those level sooner than later which in turn would have us spending more on digital goods.
But customer demand is just one side of the issue. It is the supply and the problems within which are more troublesome. Startups in this sector often tend to focus on building tools for doing the same thing and not for actually building businesses. Let’s understand how.
Creators and influencers are just a natural extension of Bollywood stars, earlier brands roped them in to sell their products, now brands rope these influencers in to do the same. If these platforms have bought about democracy, then this pretty much stands as a prime example.
However what is missing and what makes the difference is how those stars have managers and experts to guide them in terms of managing and growing their influence and money. These creators have literally no one to guide them.
Let me explain this using beauty products as an industry. You can go to multiple platforms and you will see that this industry is primarily driven by influencers who push forward these products. The first question that comes to mind is — why can’t these influencers or creators be launching their own lines? I mean not everyone can but there should be some who have good enough number of followers and great engagement to be able to sell product lines of their own.
To begin with, we can assume that:
- Not every creator wants to get into the business side of things; there will be people who simply want brand deals and are happy with it,
- There will be some who have no clue that they go around doing this and finally
- There will be a small subset who are actually thinking about doing it, but neither have funds nor the expertise to go through with it. Showcasing how to use a product and launching a product line are two different skill sets altogether.
Assuming that we leave the first 2 sub-sets, it is the last sub-set that really needs some help and as an extension opens up opportunities for businesses and investors alike.
The idea here is to come on-board as a business enabler, as an expert who understands the manufacturing and the operational side of things in this industry. Who are the manufacturers, where should the R&D be done, how to get governmental clearances, how to get the packaging and design done and finally where to get it manufactured from at the cheapest possible prices. The creators then stick to their goal of creating content and marketing the product.
These kind of specialists can be extrapolated to a lot of industries..be it fitness products, be it food products, kitchen hardware and so on.
As an end result, we need more business experts and enablers in this creator eco-system and not more tools. Help generate revenue, not another tool for taking that revenue.
