Release-checked Indian B-roll from creators, licensed to agencies and brands
TL;DR Clipwharf buys nothing up front. Creators upload the unused Indian footage they already shoot (street scenes, kitchens, festivals, small shops), Clipwharf checks rights and releases, and agencies and brands license clips with a clear written licence. Creators get a second income from work that would otherwise sit on a hard drive.
India has far more creators than paying work. A global consulting report counts 2–2.5 million monetised creators[1], and coverage of the same report says only 8–10% of creators earn well, with many small ones under ₹18,000 a month[2]. An ISB study counts 4.12 million creators in 2025, two-thirds outside the metros, and finds most get one paid brand campaign a year[3].
On the buying side, agencies making ads for Indian audiences still struggle to find footage with Indian faces and settings that they can legally use. The photo side was solved years ago by Indian image agencies, but footage shot in a Lucknow market or a Coimbatore kitchen, with releases, is much harder to buy.
Clipwharf is a curated footage library supplied by creators. A creator uploads raw B-roll along with location details and signed releases from anyone recognisable. A small review team rejects clips with logos, missing releases or shaky rights, then tags the rest by city, language, occasion and mood. Buyers pay per clip or take a monthly pack, and every download comes with a written licence stating the permitted uses.
The seed wanted blockchain to track ownership, and I've dropped it. Can a ledger prove the uploader shot the clip, or that the woman at the tea stall agreed to appear in a bank ad? It can't, but signed releases and human review can. A plain database records who licensed what, and that's enough. Creators earn a share of each sale, and the best contributors get paid shoot briefs ("monsoon traffic in Pune, 20 clips").
Creators supply, buyers pay. Buyers are small ad agencies, D2C brands, production houses and news and explainer channels that need Indian footage this week. The price anchor is still images - one Indian stock-image agency lists single images from ₹500[4]. Footage usually costs more than a photo, so test single-clip prices of ₹1,500–6,000 and monthly packs for agencies (our estimate, to validate).
The supply is new. The ISB study shows the creator base grew more than fourfold in five years[3], and most of those creators shoot far more than they post. The IT Amendment Rules that took effect on 20 February 2026 require labels on synthetic video[5], which gives brands a reason to want footage that is verifiably real and released.
I found no public figure for India's stock-footage market. The firmest signals are indirect - 4.12 million creators with spare footage[3], and a long-running Indian image agency that built a business on Indian faces at ₹500 an image and up[4]. Adjacent - the consulting report puts creator-influenced consumer spending at US$350–400 billion[1], but that's spending, not footage demand.
That Indian image agency is the closest model, built on the gap in Indian faces, but its licensing guide describes images, not video[4]. Global stock libraries sell footage and accept Indian contributors, yet their Indian catalogue is thin and searches are in English. The gap is a footage library curated for Indian buyers, searchable by city, language and occasion, with releases checked by people.
| Difficulty | Moderate (37/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹40–75 L |
| Time to launch | 6–9 months |
The software is ordinary. The hard part is the review desk - checking releases, spotting logos and copied clips, and turning down most uploads without losing creators. The other hard part is filling the shelves before buyers arrive, because a library with 2,000 clips doesn't win a repeat agency order.
No sector licence is needed to run a footage library. What matters is getting the paperwork on rights right.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't let AI decide whether a release is valid or a clip is cleared. A person signs off every rights call, because one bad clip lands on a brand's lawyer.
Want to work out the AI layer for Clipwharf? Talk to Yash →
I like this for a founder from a stock agency, production house or ad agency who already knows what buyers search for. If you're hoping software alone will build the catalogue then it is a poor fit. Before raising money, show that 30 agencies or brands will pay for clips from a hand-curated set of 3,000.
Plan for roughly ₹40–75 L over 6–9 months, most of it on the review team, early creator payouts and selling to agencies.
No sector licence. You need solid copyright licences with creators and buyers, signed releases under the DPDP Act, labels for any AI-altered video, plus company and GST registration.
Yes, the gap for local faces and places exists in many markets. Check your country's copyright, image rights and data protection rules before you take uploads.
The free Clipwharf validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the rights and data-protection checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for buyers and creators, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Clipwharf or something close to it? The make-or-break work is a release check strict enough for brand lawyers that creators still put up with, and that's the kind of thing I help founders with. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.