Influish raises pre-seed at Rs 25 crore valuation

Key Takeaways

• Influish raised pre-seed funding at Rs 25 crore valuation from angel investors including Clovia cofounder Pankaj Vermani
• The platform claims profitability with 10 lakh creators and 50% month-on-month revenue growth through zero customer acquisition cost
• Founders are targeting Rs 100 crore in annual recurring revenue by December 2027

Influish, a creator-brand matchmaking platform launched in April, has closed a pre-seed funding round at a Rs 25 crore valuation. Angel investors backing the round include Pankaj Vermani, cofounder of lingerie brand Clovia, along with Jeetendra Tewani and Sachin Harneja.

The Gurugram-based startup connects content creators with brands, offering tools for audience growth, brand deals, and business management. It claims to have crossed 10 lakh creators on its platform since launch, roughly seven months ago.

How does Influish make money?

The platform runs on a subscription model. Creators pay an initial annual entry fee that converts to a monthly plan later. According to cofounder Sankalp Nag, Influish was already profitable at the time of this raise, growing revenues roughly 50% month-on-month.

The zero customer acquisition cost model is notable. Nag said the platform's growth was driven by viral content and agency-produced funnels, from social reels to app downloads. Creators connect their Instagram through Influish's official Meta API, access free learning content and automations on day one, and unlock brand collaborations and premium tools on the paid tier.

What problem is Influish trying to solve?

The platform positions itself as a solution to the fake metrics problem plaguing influencer marketing. Brands routinely struggle to verify whether a creator's engagement numbers are real or inflated through paid boosts and bot activity.

“The creator economy has a fake metrics problem, and agencies know how to game it — paid boosts, inflated engagement, numbers that look great on a deck but don't convert. We use official Meta APIs and profile analysis to validate every creator on the platform, so the data you see is real.”

— Sankalp Nag, cofounder, Influish

The platform offers Instagram automation powered by official Meta APIs, verified performance insights, educational content, and structured brand-collaboration workflows. Nag told ET the team is now working on invoice generation, an agency dashboard with escrow payments, automated contracts, and live verified metrics.

Who are the founders?

Influish was founded by Sankalp Nag, Tushar Jain, and Shivani Rajora. All three are college dropouts. The startup is part of the CoFounder Circle Accelerator, a venture-building platform founded by serial entrepreneur Darpan Sanghvi.

The founding team's bet is straightforward: as India's creator economy expands, the infrastructure supporting it remains fragmented. Platforms that can offer simplified, AI-driven tools for both creators and brands have high scalability potential.

What will Influish do with the capital?

Nag said the capital will be used to expand product features, enhance AI-powered tools, and build out brand and agency dashboards. The startup is targeting Rs 100 crore in annual recurring revenue by December 2027. That's an ambitious jump from a pre-seed stage company, but the team points to its current growth trajectory as evidence the target is achievable.

The raise comes as India's creator economy continues to expand. According to research data, the platform has connected over 50,000 brands to creators through its marketplace. The real test will be whether verified metrics translate into higher conversion rates for brands, justifying premium pricing over competitors who offer similar matchmaking without the data verification layer.

How does Influish compare to existing platforms?

The influencer marketing space in India already has established players like Qoruz, Influencer.in, and Plixxo. What Influish is betting on is that the verification problem is severe enough that brands will pay a premium for trustworthy data. The official Meta API integration is the technical moat here. Many competitors scrape public data or rely on self-reported metrics from creators.

Discussion on startup forums and LinkedIn has positioned the platform as a "LinkedIn for creators." Investors have noted that the creator-brand collaboration market is fragmented in India, with no clear winner yet in the verified-metrics segment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Influish?

Influish is an Indian creator platform that connects content creators with brands. It offers tools for audience growth, Instagram automation via official Meta APIs, verified performance insights, and brand collaboration workflows.

How much funding did Influish raise?

Influish raised a pre-seed round at a Rs 25 crore valuation from angel investors including Clovia cofounder Pankaj Vermani, Jeetendra Tewani, and Sachin Harneja.

Who founded Influish?

Influish was founded by Sankalp Nag, Tushar Jain, and Shivani Rajora, all college dropouts. The startup is part of the CoFounder Circle Accelerator.

How many creators use Influish?

Influish claims to have crossed 10 lakh (1 million) creators on its platform since launching in April, with over 50,000 brands connected through the marketplace.

What is Influish's revenue target?

The startup is targeting Rs 100 crore in annual recurring revenue by December 2027.

Source: Tech-Economic Times / ET