How Kofluence is democratising content creation & influencer marketing landscape

Adgully has been turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series – START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the ‘Vocal for Local’ movement and have been featuring numerous local/ homegrown businesses, brands, and Apps in the country launched in the last few years.

Founded in 2019 in Bangalore, Kofluence emerged as a trailblazing force in the influencer marketing landscape. Recognising the potential of the burgeoning creator economy and the need for a more efficient and transparent platform, Kofluence embarked on a mission to level the playing field for creators and brands alike. With a team of talented disruptors infused with creativity and energy, Kofluence set out to build a data-driven ecosystem that would streamline the influencer marketing process and foster strong relationships between creators and brands. Through their connective marketplace, Kofluence empowers brands and social users to discover and collaborate with each other, handpicking the perfect partners and negotiating terms that suit their individual needs.

With a focus on India’s thriving creator economy, Kofluence enables creators to monetise their reach and make a living doing what they love. Embracing the increasing significance of influencer marketing, Kofluence goes beyond traditional brand collaborations by developing disruptive SaaS products that leverage technology and automation to bring structure to the industry. As a result, Kofluence invites brands to envision a world where creativity and influence seamlessly converge, providing a platform where they can leave their mark and thrive.

In conversation with Adgully, Ritesh Ujjwal, CEO & Co-Founder, Kofluence, talks about his entrepreneurial journey, automating every aspect of influencer campaigns, prioritising empathy, adaptability, and continuous learning, and much more.

Please take us through your journey as an entrepreneur. What motivated you to establish your start-up? What were you doing prior to turning an entrepreneur?

Kofluence was incepted by me and my co-founder, Sreeram Reddy Vanga, with a single-minded goal – to disrupt the traditional marketing landscape by unlocking the power of social influence and democratising influencer marketing. We recognised that the influencer marketing domain was unorganised and fragmented, with several challenges ranging from a lack of price standardisation to managing ROI expectations, manual operations resulting in longish TATS, scaling, and risk and fraud factors, among others. Therefore, we came up with a new solution to address these challenges in terms of our cutting-edge AI-led platform, which empowers both brands and social media users to harness social influence.

At Kofluence, I am tasked with overseeing overall management, including strategy, business operations, product development, and the technology roadmap, with a strong focus on people development.

Prior to Kofluence, I was part of the leadership team at Cozy Games, where I played a crucial role in the successful acquisition and integration of the company by Entain PLC, a renowned organisation listed on the FTSE 100. Earlier, I was also one of the founding members of Prashaste, a management organisation specialising in the auto-retail sector. With Prashaste, I successfully onboarded over 2,000 clients across India, including major auto and oil and gas giants.

Given my educational background, which is a Masters from IIM Calcutta, I have had opportunities to work in diverse domains, including banking, consulting, gaming, and startups, over a span of 15 years. Furthermore, owing to my expertise, I also had opportunities to mentor upcoming start-ups on various aspects such as go-to-market strategies, organisational design, and fundraising.

What gap did you want to fulfill with your startup? What is the core business proposition?

The democratisation of content creation has been made possible by Google and Meta, which have provided accessible platforms for individuals to showcase their creativity and produce impactful content that can reach a global audience. However, influencer marketing still remains fragmented, leading to brands facing challenges in relevance mapping, pricing standardisation, and fraud prevention.

Kofluence addresses these issues with its codeless AI-led tech infrastructure, which includes our SAAS platform, which automates every aspect of influencer campaigns, from creator discovery to performance metrics. The brands benefit from performance-driven and cost-effective solutions tailored to their specific needs, while the creators gain access to brand campaigns through the Kofluence mobile app, which simplifies the application and payment process.

Before our entry into this market, creators had to rely on multiple mediums of communication and chase brands, agencies, and PR partners for timely payments. However, with our self-serve app-based approach, we were able to improve pricing transparency and payment time by 8.5X (from 60 days to 7 Days). Following a first-principles-centric approach, we were able to successfully deliver value to social media influencers, and as a result, we have been able to onboard 500K social media influencers organically.

How did you identify your TG? Did you carry out any feasibility study prior to starting your business?

With the democratisation of Content Creation by newer social media, we were able to identify significant white space towards monetisation for content creators. Based on prior experience in the gaming industry, we faced the bottlenecks first hand wherein it was difficult to run large scale influencer marketing campaigns in absence of robust tools to take care of discovery, pricing, insights as well as reporting.

We had a look at existing players across the globe and could see the challenges to scale relevant influencer marketing campaigns. After launching Kofluence, we undertook user surveys across the stakeholders with a first principle approach and started building the building blocks to help creators unlock their social influence.

What were the challenges that you faced in your start-up journey and how did you overcome them?

When we started Kofluence, we had the typical cold-start problem of getting the flywheel into action. As we are a two-way marketplace connecting brands, social media influencers, and content creators, it was critical to establish credibility. We addressed the issue through a three-pronged approach where we established trust among influencers with a clear-cut value proposition focused on price transparency, timely payments, and round-the-clock support.

Here are some approaches we implemented that have set us on the path to success:

• Constant alignment and realignment, along with the focus on learning and unlearning, have helped us navigate choppy waters amidst uncertain times, as we have been able to initially survive and subsequently thrive over the last three years.
• Diversification of the revenue mix has helped us reduce dependence on industries where spending is cyclical in nature. This has been done through the strategic identification of industries and clients that leverage influencer marketing in an agnostic manner.
• Timely shifting of gears to ensure that we fire on our respective cylinders in an optimized manner has ensured that we optimally index for impact based on context and resources.

What were the clearances that you required for your venture from various authorities?

While the influencer marketing industry is a sunrise industry and gradually moving towards becoming a mainstream, ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) as the prime guiding light to ensure transparency and accountability via self-regulation. As we’ve worked closely with corresponding regulators in UK Markets earlier, we’ve been proactive in getting registered as one of the first Influencer Marketing platforms and we continue to work closely with ASCI. Other than ASCI, we’ve been working closely with social media players like Meta, Alphabet among others. As we’re date centric organisation, privacy and security are important pillars and we’ve correspondingly got ourselves certified from ISO 27001, along with ISO/IEC 27017, 27018.

Funds/ finance is the prime issue of almost all start-ups. What can the industry and the Government do to address this issue and ease the capital requirements of start-ups?

In a bid to foster the growth of the start-up ecosystem in India, the government has already implemented several measures. For instance, the Startup India initiative has introduced schemes such as the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), which aim to provide capital support at various stages of a startup's business cycle. Additionally, the Finance Minister proposed extending the period for carrying forward losses to 10 years, offering further financial relief to start-ups.

This budgetary measure is particularly significant as the start-up sector is currently experiencing a funding winter. In 2022, investors invested approximately $25 billion in Indian start-ups, marking a 40% decrease compared to the $42 billion raised through 1,500+ deals in 2021. In such critical times, the Finance Minister’s action acknowledges and supports the country’s growing entrepreneurial spirit.

In addition to financial support, educating students about entrepreneurship and providing them with mentorship opportunities can play a vital role. By offering benefits like tax exemptions or incentives, more students can be encouraged to pursue their entrepreneurial passion. Such initiatives not only inspire young minds but also provide them with the means to finance their innovative ideas.

How is digital helping you further your business?

Being a digital-first firm has been instrumental in helping us achieve significant growth in our business. Firstly, the digital nature of our operations has allowed us to transcend geographical boundaries and expand our reach globally. This has opened up new markets and opportunities for collaboration with brands and creators worldwide. Additionally, our digital-first approach has empowered us with scalability and efficiency. Through automated processes and streamlined workflows, we have been able to handle a large volume of campaigns seamlessly, meeting the demands of our clients efficiently. Furthermore, the digital-first approach has provided us with valuable data-driven insights, which have enabled us to optimize our campaigns, track performance, and make informed decisions to deliver exceptional results.

What are your key learnings so far? How do you see the start-up ecosystem progressing in 2023?

India is poised to become a $5 trillion economy, and start-ups have a vital role to play. In 2023, the growth of the start-up ecosystem is anticipated to be influenced by several key factors. Primarily, technology will continue to be a major driver of innovation, with areas like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity experiencing sustained growth and surging investment.

Furthermore, governments and regulators are increasingly shaping the start-up landscape, and it is possible that new regulations and policies will emerge this year aimed at striking a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring consumer protection, privacy, and security. As a result, start-ups will need to navigate these evolving regulatory environments to achieve compliance and foster sustainable growth. Additionally, the widespread adoption of digitisation, along with the emergence of novel tech solutions such as vernacular, voice-based interfaces, conversational AI, and the continued influence of social media, are expected to serve as significant drivers for the growth of the start-up ecosystem in 2023.

What would be your message for budding entrepreneurs?

The decision to be an entrepreneur has impacted my life trajectory significantly. I have gained relevant experience and learned various ways to positively impact respective stakeholders depending on the context and resources, among other things. As an entrepreneur, I would advise budding entrepreneurs to strive to make a positive impact on their stakeholders and be mindful of the resources and context they have. We, as entrepreneurs, must consistently optimize to create value and uncover the potential of budding talents like them. We need to be honest with ourselves and take tough decisions that lead to long-term value creation.

My advice to aspiring leaders is to focus on developing a strong sense of empathy, active listening, and adaptability. It is crucial to understand the unique strengths and challenges of each team member and create a personalised approach that motivates them to perform at their best. Additionally, I would emphasise the importance of continuous learning and adapting to new challenges, as the business landscape is constantly evolving. Remember, entrepreneurship is a journey of growth, both personally and professionally. Embrace the challenges, learn from them, and focus on creating meaningful impact. By prioritising empathy, adaptability, and continuous learning, you can pave the way for success and make a difference in the lives of others.