How Stavya Nilawar built a six-figure agency from $35

Nilawar’s agency connects brands with YouTube creators for sponsored segments and dedicated videos. Clients have included AI companies CodeRabbit and Wispr Flow, as well as campaigns involving Jack Link’s and MrBeast. He typically takes 20% of a project fee. His monthly expenses rarely top $1,500; virtual assistants, who help with outreach, account for about $1,000. That work can mean 200 to 300 emails a day, including follow-ups.

He started building a creator roster by searching TikTok himself, opening accounts to find contact details. Once he had 10 to 15 creators, he began pitching brands. Nilawar, who launched the business during a gap semester before college, said four lessons helped him grow it.

First, he recommends choosing a niche for its commercial opportunity rather than personal passion. He wanted to run an agency connecting brands and creators, then chose AI companies because they were growing quickly and had budgets for creator partnerships. “I was not passionate about AI at all, to be honest,” he said. His advice is to start with a business model that appeals to you, then look for a niche with demand and paying customers.

He also urges founders to seek advice from people already running the kind of business they hope to build. An industry contact initially explained how creator deals work and that a 20% agency fee was typical. Nilawar later contacted agency owners for practical advice; his current mentor runs a similar agency that generates about $10 million a year.

A repeatable outreach process was essential to reaching his first $10,000 in revenue, he said. Nilawar tested email copy and calls to action before using assistants and software to handle more of the work. He says the agency competes on relationships and speed, aiming to respond to clients within two to five minutes.

His final lesson came from a campaign involving three creators. Two delivered smoothly; the third missed deadlines, and the brand disliked the eventual content. The client wanted to cancel that part of the deal, and Nilawar feared he might owe $25,000. “I didn’t have $25K,” he said. “I thought I was screwed.” The parties reached a solution. The experience, he said, showed him that agency work also means managing expectations, communicating and resolving disputes—not just landing deals.