IPLIX Media launches digital economy incubator IBD

IPLIX Media, the influencer marketing and talent management agency, has announced the launch of a digital economy incubator - IBD (IPLIX Business Division).

In the initial phase, IBD will unveil two verticals, namely Creator-led vertical and IBD Early-stage. The Creator-led vertical will create a new model for content creators to launch their businesses. The second vertical- IBD Early-stage, will give mentorship to early-stage start-ups in sustaining and scaling their ventures. 

Monetisation is a tricky business for content creators. A plethora of brands have tried finding solutions. A recent report by Kalaari Capital also revealed similar statistics. It divulged that out of eight crore creators in the country, only 1.5 lakh are able to effectively monetise their services. IBD aims to bridge that need gap and create unique monetisation opportunities for creators across the nation.

The creator-led vertical will provide content creators an infrastructure to build their own D2C brands. In the first phase, the vertical will closely work with content creators in market research, finding the right product-market fit and building the vision. Once the product is up and running, it will support creators in designing the sales funnel, marketing and hiring as well.

The vertical’s first use case, Layers - a gadget skin brand, by Tech Burner and Neel Gogia, has shipped over 1 lakh skins across 5000 pin codes in the last six months and catered to a consumer base of 2.5 lakh since its inception. The vertical’s long-term vision is to build creator-led unicorns in the country. It will make content creators self-sufficient in the long run and help them cater to an audience much larger than their existing one. 

IPLIX Media exclusively works with some leading content creators in India - including the likes of Thugesh, Neha Doodles, Saloni Gaur, Dharna Durga, Ritvi Shah, and MSK. In the first year of IBD, the agency will be exploring potential partnerships within its roster in the near future. This opportunity will be available to creators beyond the IPLIX roster as well. 

The venture’s second vertical- IBD Early-stage is industry-agnostic. It will support start-ups in the early stages that are solving unique problems or serving the underserved markets. In the first cohort, IBD Early-stage will invite applications from across India, out of which, up to 5 ventures will be shortlisted and provided in-depth mentoring.

The venture’s parent agency, IPLIX Media, since its inception has worked with 400+ brands and VCs - including the likes of MamaEarth, V3 Ventures, Skillshare and Audi. It will tap into its network to provide the start-ups an opportunity to connect and learn from leading entrepreneurs, VCs and angels across the Indian start-up ecosystem. 

This announcement further fortifies IPLIX Media's macro vision of empowering the ₹2500 crore influencer marketing ecosystem with diversified revenue opportunities. IBD will help these early-stage startups grow from 0-30 crores in the first year of its inception.

On the launch of the IPLIX Business Division, Co-Founder, Neel Gogia said, “Content creators have been passionate about the D2C space for a long time. However, they did not have the proper knowledge or infrastructure to take this forward. Hence, we decided to launch this division. As a part of this division, we’ll be helping creators with the A-Z of building a D2C brand, from finding product market fit, making the sales funnel, building a marketing engine to securing the funding. We are excited to have the first-mover advantage to build something of this magnitude. Without a shadow of a doubt, this will be a game changer for India’s creator economy.”

“I believe that contentpreneurship is the future of the creator economy. It will not only help creators in diversifying their revenue opportunities but make them self-sustaining for the years to come. The shelf life of a content creator is limited, and if they don't innovate themselves chances are that they will become irrelevant in the years to come as any creator, no matter how exceptional their content is, cannot be at the peak during their entire content creation lifespan. Hence, they need to be on the lookout for opportunities that help them sustain themselves in the longer run. With the launch of IPLIX Business Division, we aim to create new revenue sources for creators and provide them a runway to launch their brands and take the entrepreneurial plunge,” said Co-founder, Jag Chima.