When Rohan Gurram opened his phone one morning, he did not expect what he saw.
Not a fundraising inquiry. Not a speaking request. Not a congratulations message.
It was a death threat.
The language was blunt and hateful, aimed at his identity as a South Asian founder. It was a reminder of how the world still treats people who look like him. A reminder of how easily visibility becomes vulnerability.
"It is sad that this is how our people are viewed," he later wrote publicly. "Being an Indian founder in tech comes with a level of hate most people do not see. If I do not tell my story myself, someone else will. And they will tell it wrong."
The message did not scare him. It clarified him.
He realized that being seen was not optional. It was the mission.
Before becoming CEO of Cliqk, Rohan was a first-generation Indian kid searching for belonging. He excelled academically and went on to graduate from Yale University with degrees in Economics and Business. Yet belonging was never something a diploma could provide.
"I was too Indian for Americans and too American for Indians," he said once. "So I built the middle ground myself."
That middle ground eventually became Cliqk.
Cliqk is a one-click marketing platform that launches your brand everywhere at once: billboards, social ads, UGC, events, newsletters, and press runs. The company is building the foundation for AI GTM, introducing concepts like Vibe Marketing and a Marketing Copilot that automates cultural distribution for brands and creators.
Rohan calls it the infrastructure layer for cultural presence.
"Creators are companies. Companies are storytellers. Both need systems, data, and execution. That is what we build."
Earlier this year, Cliqk integrated four companies founded by Ilias Anwar: TCC Entertainment, 50 percent of Tapped AI, Creator Week, and Ilias Events, through a combined package valued at around 900 thousand dollars. The integration brought Cliqk access to venue data, media production, large-scale community events, and a real-world network of more than 20,000 founders, creators, and investors.
To build the core of the platform, Gurram knew he needed a founding team that reflected the full spectrum of culture and technology.
He recruited Alvin Pan, a former neurosurgical AI researcher who built reinforcement learning and video-intelligence models at NYU Langone and Columbia University, to lead product intelligence.
He partnered with Gary "Bolo" Sargeant, a music executive who helped shape the evolutions of Beyoncé, J. Cole, Young Thug, and Megan Thee Stallion, to guide cultural and industry alignment.
And he brought in Ilias Anwar, the community architect behind New York's largest founder-creator-investor network, to lead global marketing and community expansion.
"Each one is world-class in their lane," Rohan said. "Alvin brings precision. Bolo brings the industry. Ilias brings momentum. I build systems. Together, we form the machine."
Rohan has seen firsthand what it means to be overlooked.
South Asian founders are often placed in back-end roles. Engineers in the shadows. Operators in the background. Rarely positioned as storytellers or cultural leaders.
"Indians are the backbone of global tech," he said. "But we are rarely the face of it. I want to change that."
His goal is visibility at scale.
Cliqk identifies rising talent and emerging brands through AI-driven cultural signals. It then generates coordinated go-to-market execution across channels instantly. Instead of separate teams for PR, influencer relations, paid media, and event strategy, Cliqk acts as the unified launch system.
"We are not replacing human creativity," Rohan says. "We are making it scalable. AI gives creators time back. It gives them control."
That death threat did not start Cliqk.
But it crystallized the purpose behind it.
"It reminded me why it matters that I am seen," he said. "If one Indian kid sees me building this, they will know they do not have to stay invisible."
Cliqk is not just software.
It is a statement.
If you do not tell your own story, someone else will.
And they will tell it wrong.
"I do not want to be the exception," Rohan says. "I want to be the example."
For the millions of creators who have felt unseen, unheard, or underestimated, that example matters.
It might just change everything.
About Cliqk
Cliqk is a one-click marketing platform that launches your brand everywhere at once: billboards, social ads, UGC networks, events, newsletters, and press runs. The company is building the next generation of AI GTM, introducing Vibe Marketing and the Marketing Copilot to help brands and creators scale cultural presence instantly.
Learn more at www.mycliqk.com.
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