Content creation isn't sustainable long term without reinvention

YouTuber Ishan Sharma dropped out of college to become an influencer. He tells Nabodita Ganguly what creators must do to stay relevant amid the rise of Al influencers. Edited excerpts

- Nabodita Ganguly

Before becoming a content creator, what did you want to become? And when did you switch?

I wanted to be a software engineer in one of the big tech companies. I was enrolled in electrical engineering at BITS Pilani Goa. I don't think it was ever like one point where I decided that I want to only do content...it was more of a journey.

After the pandemic, the college asked us to return, but I couldn't adjust to the environment. I had spent the last couple of years at home focusing on my YouTube channel, learning new skills and building my marketing company. Returning to college meant focusing on things that no longer excited me.

On March 27, 2022, I dropped out and went back to Pune. By April 1, I had moved to Bengaluru, and I've been here ever since.

You mentioned struggling to adjust after returning to college post-pandemic.

I think what set me apart was that everyone around me was focused on getting a job. No one was thinking about value creation—about how to create employment in India.

My mind was constantly occupied with questions like: how can I sell better? How can I hire better editors, designers, managers? How can I build systems that work without me?