HYDERABAD: At 19, when most teenagers are busy making friends — online and offline — Avinash Mada, a BTech

student

, established two start-ups and found a way to earn a seven-digit income through

.

The

, who provides marketing services and helps his clients increase their follower base, said that he has about 12 clients and charges between $1,000 and $2,000 per client.

“It started as a hobby. I had created a memes page on Instagram and began getting good response. Brands started approaching me to promote their products through my page and offered good money for advertising. That’s when I realised that I could make good money through Instagram,” said Mada, a student of

(

).

He said that anyone interested in digital marketing can take this up as a full-time job and earn about Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh per month.

Mada’s clients range from e-commerce gurus to skincare brands. He said that he hires freelancers from around the world to work with him. At present, he has seven freelancers working with him. Now, he is planning to offer a course through IG Empires so that he can help youngsters learn how to earn money through Instagram.

“I have learned through self-study and anyone can do it. But those interested to learn from my experience can opt for my online course, which I will launch in January. I have recorded more than 100 episodes for the course and would charge between $500 and $1,000 from each student,” Mada said. He wants to set-up office either in Hyderabad or Vizag.

Pratham Mittal, head of New Initiatives at LPU, said that the institute has incubated 120 start-ups till now and they are mentoring 235 more start-ups at the incubation centre.

“When Avinash came with this idea, we found it interesting. We don’t discourage anyone just because it’s not one-of-its-kind ideas. We see whether a student is passionate enough to take it forward. Even LPU used Avinash’s services to sanitise our institute’s page on Instagram,” said Mittal.