Cancellation may be a creator’s biggest turning point: Varun Mayya

Building a founder brand is increasingly becoming part of the startup playbook, but finding an audience takes more than posting regularly on social media. It requires years of experimentation, a willingness to stand apart, and the ability to adapt as technology and audience expectations change, according to Varun Mayya, Founder and CEO of AEOS, a content and media-tech company.

Speaking at the closing session of Day 1 of YourStory’s startup-tech summit TechSparks in Bengaluru, the content creator and entrepreneur joined Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory and The Bharat Project, for a fireside chat on building a brand, the secret to virality, and staying agile in an increasingly dynamic content landscape. 

For Mayya, brand building comes down to two things: courage and differentiation. The first is simply having the courage to put yourself out there. He pointed to how comfortable many young Indians, GenZ in particular, are with making videos and sharing them online from their teens, admitting that he didn't have that confidence when he was younger.

Differentiation, for Mayya, is vital. For young founders, standing out can mean raising funding at a time when they have few other markers of success. Securing $5 million or $10 million can set them apart from their peers, give them a story to tell, and offer something to build their social media presence around. While these numbers may matter less once a founder has established a name for themselves, Mayya believes the underlying principle holds: find what makes you different, and build your story around it.

This is particularly challenging in India, where doing things differently invites criticism and consequences. But if founders want to build a distinct identity, Mayya asserted that they need to be willing to take that chance. 

Finding liberation in cancellation

Mayya grew to be more comfortable with criticism after an early experiment with AI attracted backlash. In 2022, he and his team built AutoCode Pro, a GPT-4-powered agent that could write some code and generate Chrome extensions. Seeing how quickly the technology was advancing, he presumptively tweeted that software might not exist in its then-current form four years later.  

The reaction was harsh and instant. In a country where $250 billion of exports comes from software, the tweet struck a raw nerve, and Mayya recalled being widely criticised online. But the experience also changed how he felt about putting his opinions out there.

“Once you've been cancelled, then you can say whatever you want. And I think that has been really valuable. As long as you understand that not everyone’s going to be on your side, then you’re okay,” he said. 

Mayya also spoke about how his content has changed over time. Earlier, he built his voice around serious technology commentary, worrying about what people might think if he mixed in humour or tried something unexpected. Today, he's more comfortable pitching unconventional ideas. 

He suggested that most people start out creating content with their guard up. Their first video is often the ‘LinkedIn’ of themselves, rather than how they might behave in everyday life. Getting comfortable on camera, he argued, involves shedding a protective shell, and giving authenticity a voice. 

He was careful to draw a line. Authenticity is appreciated, but being harmful to others is not. 

The zero mindset: Adaptability in the age of AI

For Mayya, being prepared for uncertainty isn't just about handling criticism. It's also about accepting that a business that works today may not work tomorrow. His approach to business today is what he calls a “zero” mindset. Even a seemingly stable company, he pointed out, can be affected by a platform changing its rules or a new technology disrupting its business model.

“I've now been around long enough to see everyone's stories change. I think the sign of intelligence is adaptation. In our world we see reinvention and pivoting as a bad thing. I'll probably have to pivot again two years later or three years later, and I'm okay with it,” he shared. 

His experience with Aevy TV offers an example of how this played out. The team started with an infotainment channel that mixed information with skits. When the bootstrapped business began running short of money, one of its video editors suggested teaching video editing to generate revenue. The idea worked: students found jobs, and the training initiative grew into a business. The team later moved into content services, working with clients including Zoho, Zerodha, Cleartrip and Vodafone. Eventually, Mayya shared that they became one of the largest editing schools in the world.  

As AI began changing the economics of content production, Mayya set up Aeos Labs to explore how the technology could improve the services business. He shared that the company’s margins had grown from around 10% to nearly 50%. But that improvement comes with a catch. If AI eventually allows clients to do the work themselves, the need for external service providers could vanish. Mayya warned that this puts all large service businesses at risk. 

He also cautioned against making assumptions around AI, saying, “It's not wise to make any final claims against. Earlier I have said AI cannot carry out certain tasks. And then it did.”

In response, Mayya shared that he was exploring offline businesses to diversify beyond digital ventures. Founders need to stay open to changing direction, even when their current business appears to be doing well.

When it comes to viral content, Mayya doesn't believe there's a secret formula to crack. He argued that recommendation algorithms largely reflect what people want to watch. Creators need to understand and mirror what their audience cares about. One approach his team uses is “frame shifting”, which involves connecting a subject to something people are already talking about. For instance, Mayya once reframed a scene featuring jaggery from the movie Dhurandhar to discuss the economics of jaggery production. 

While Mayya shared that his content ecosystem generated around 1.5 billion views in the preceding month, he emphasised that the story was bigger than numbers. It was about adapting, growing and challenging the changeability of the content landscape.