The creator economy is still far from saturation: Chatterbox’s Raj Mishra

Influencer marketing in India has come a long way, evolving from a niche experiment to a core part of brand strategy almost overnight. In fact, the industry reached Rs. 3,600 crore in 2024 in India and was expected to grow at 25% in 2025. The festive season alone saw brands spending over Rs. 700 crore on influencer campaigns, with rate cards surging between 15% and 30% as demand increased. Against this backdrop, Chatterbox Technologies became one of the first influencer marketing agencies in India to go public, listing on BSE SME in September 2025. The IPO was oversubscribed 52 times, drawing demand worth Rs. 1,503 crore against an issue size of Rs. 42.86 crore.

The investor response is defining how the industry is being perceived. Just over a month ago, Raj Mishra, Founder, CEO & MD, Chatterbox Technologies Limited, says, they rang the bell not just for Chatterbox but for the entire creator economy. The company viewed this as a natural inflection point. 

Mishra shares that influencer marketing has moved from being an emerging category to becoming a proven, performance-driven mainstream media channel over the past few years. And for Chatterbox, the listing was about more than raising capital. It was a growth catalyst and a signal that the industry is becoming more formalised. 

The 52x oversubscription, Mishra believes, shows that the creator economy is now being taken seriously as a business vertical and is no longer seen as just a buzzword. The subscription levels indicated that people recognise creativity, when combined with technology, as an investable opportunity.

But going public brings its own pressures. Mishra is clear that brands now demand accountability. While festive rate cards can jump 15% to 30%, the buzzword today is ROI. The company's proprietary creator intelligence platform, in development for the past couple of years, is designed to analyse creator data in depth. It examines audience quality, sentiment and performance benchmarking across platforms. The aim is to shift focus from vanity metrics to verified ROI and make influencer marketing as accountable as any other digital channel. 

In this conversation, Mishra talks about why this felt like the right time to go public, how the company plans to use the funds for technology development and expansion into MENA and Southeast Asia, the challenge of bringing standardisation to an industry still figuring out how to measure impact, and his vision for making India a global hub for the creator economy over the next decade.

Edited Excerpts:

What made you decide that this was the right time for Chatterbox to go public?

At the very beginning, it felt like an incredibly exciting moment for all of us. Just a month ago, we rang the bell, not just for Chatterbox but for the entire creator economy.

We saw this as a natural inflection point, both for Chatterbox and for the creator economy in India. Over the past few years, influencer marketing has evolved from an emerging category into a proven, performance-driven mainstream media channel.

Our business has consistently delivered strong results over the last decade. We have reached a stage of maturity with steady growth, profitability, and strong brand relationships. Going public, for us, was not only about raising capital; it also served as a growth catalyst and a signal of the industry’s increasing formalisation.

For all these reasons, we felt this was the perfect time to take the company public.

The IPO being oversubscribed 52x is a strong endorsement. What does this investor confidence say about how the market perceives influencer marketing as a business, beyond the hype?

It is a clear validation that the creator economy is now being taken seriously as a business vertical and is no longer seen as just a buzzword. The fact that our IPO was oversubscribed 52x reflects this shift.

Today, investors are looking for growth categories that are digital, data-driven, and highly scalable. Influencer marketing fits that description perfectly. The subscription levels showed that people now recognise that creativity, when combined with technology, is an investable opportunity.

It also reflects confidence in our ability to lead the space. All of these insights can be drawn from the strong investor response.

Do you believe Chatterbox’s IPO marks an inflexion point for the broader creator economy in India? Could this listing pave the way for more influencer-first businesses to explore public markets? If so, how should they go about it?

Every new industry needs a first mover to create the playbook, and we are proud to play that role for the creator economy in India.

For others looking to follow, my recommendation is to focus on building strong fundamentals: profitability, transparency, and technology. These should be the core priorities. The industry needs companies that can convert creative influence into measurable business value.

Once that foundation is solid, public markets are very receptive to businesses that combine creativity with data and strong governance. These are the essential boxes to tick before considering going public.

In what ways will Chatterbox’s public listing directly or indirectly empower creators? Could it change how creators perceive stability, professionalism, or partnership opportunities with influencer platforms?

Absolutely. A listing creates a more structured ecosystem in which creators can see long-term stability rather than just short-term gains. It helps formalise relationships between creators and brands, ensuring fair compensation, consistent opportunities, and greater transparency.

This strengthens the overall value proposition for creators. It also signals that they are part of a legitimate, accountable industry that values both creativity and integrity. Our hope is that creators will feel as secure and respected in this ecosystem as talent in traditional entertainment industries have felt for years.

How do you plan to utilise the IPO proceeds? Are there specific investments or innovations you’re eyeing?

For us, the approach has always been tactical and financially disciplined, and it will continue to be that way. We plan to allocate funds in areas that deliver strong, measurable ROI.

To give you a few examples, we want to invest in technology and AI, particularly in building the next version of our creator intelligence platform, which has been in development for the past couple of years and will be rolled out soon.

We also aim to expand creator monetisation avenues by developing tools and programs that help creators grow sustainably and manage their skills and earnings more effectively.

Global expansion is another priority. We are already setting up operations in international markets, especially in the MENA and Southeast Asia regions, where both the Indian creator diaspora and the local creator communities are strong.

My previous experience launching TikTok in multiple global markets has shown us the potential for cross-pollination and shared learnings.

Lastly, strategic partnerships and acquisitions are on our radar. We want to identify companies that add meaningful value to our ecosystem, particularly in creative tech or regional marketing.

In short, our focus is on investing in scalability and doing so with clear strategy and discipline.

One of the persistent challenges for influencer marketing has been the lack of universally accepted ROI metrics. As Chatterbox enters the public markets, where investors expect clear performance indicators, how do you plan to bring more clarity and standardisation to measuring influencer-driven impact?

Our proprietary creator intelligence platform is designed to analyse creator data in depth, from audience quality and sentiment to performance benchmarking across platforms. We want to use AI and predictive analytics to link influencer performance directly to measurable brand outcomes.

Our goal at Chatterbox is to shift the focus from vanity metrics to verified ROI and make influencer marketing as accountable as any other digital channel. As the first publicly listed company in this space, we aim to lead the industry in setting standards for transparency and measurement.

Chatterbox has reported a 33.4% revenue growth and 25.2% profit growth year-on-year. What were the key growth drivers behind this performance, and how do you plan to sustain this trajectory in a maturing market?

At a macro level, the creator economy itself is growing at roughly 20 to 25% year-on-year, which provides a strong industry backdrop. Our own growth has been driven by three key factors.

First, we have built deep, long-term partnerships with top brands across categories. Second, we have expanded into regional and micro-led ecosystems, where the grassroots creator economy is showing strong engagement and momentum.

Third, our technology and data-driven approach to campaign optimisation has been a major differentiator. Beyond ideation, planning and execution, we place significant emphasis on post-campaign analysis and performance measurement. This disciplined, data-focused method has contributed directly to our revenue and profitability growth.

Overall, we have moved away from one-off campaigns and are focused on long-term brand partnerships that deliver consistent impact. This approach will continue to drive our growth in a maturing market.

Given that the creator economy relies on individual talent and influence, is there a risk of growth saturation at some point?

The creator economy is still far from saturation. It is entering a new phase of growth, supported by global momentum in the sector. Right now, the industry is still in its adolescent stage.

What is changing is how influence is structured and distributed. We will continue to see cycles of evolution with new platforms, formats, algorithms and categories emerging. The ecosystem naturally refreshes itself.

The real challenge is ensuring that this growth is organised rather than chaotic, but saturation is not something we see happening anytime soon.

What lessons have you drawn from the IPO journey, both from an entrepreneurial and leadership standpoint? Were there moments of doubt or insight that changed how you view the business or the sector?

As an entrepreneur and a leader, the biggest lesson for me has been that conviction and patience truly pay off. The entire process took a long time from planning to execution to finally seeing results. It taught me that storytelling alone is not enough; you need structure, compliance and clarity of purpose.

Having been part of the creator economy for over a decade, starting as the first employee at Musical.ly (which later became TikTok), this journey reinforced my belief that creativity and business discipline can coexist beautifully.

It was incredibly humbling to see how many people believed in our vision, from investors and influencers to team members and creators. This is not just a win for me or for QYOU Media; it is a win for the entire ecosystem. The lessons from this experience are really a reaffirmation of what we have always believed.

Looking ahead, what’s your long-term vision for Chatterbox? How do you see the company and India’s creator economy evolving over the next decade?

Our long-term vision for Chatterbox is simple: to become the most trusted creator tech platform in the world, where brands, creators, and data come together to drive meaningful influence.

Over the next five to ten years, we see India becoming a global hub for the creator economy, exporting not just creators but creator-led brands, IPs, and other monetizable opportunities to the world.

We aim to build the backbone of this ecosystem in a responsible, sustainable way and at scale.

In short, the bell we rang was not just for a listing; it signalled the start of a new chapter for India’s creator economy, one that we are shaping at the forefront.