Founding Story - Inspiration and Origin
– When I was in my second year of engineering college in 2013, someone told me about The Souled Store and asked me to check out their website. I went back to my room, opened the link, and my first reaction was, “Man! I would love to do something like this.” They were selling official merchandise of popular TV shows like F.R.I.E.N.D.S., The Big Bang Theory, and more. At the time, I had already filled my sketchbook with doodles inspired by various TV series, so what they were doing instantly resonated with me. But since I was only 20, I didn’t think much of that moment—little did I know, I’d one day look back on it as the spark that ignited my entrepreneurial journey.
– In my third year of engineering, something happened that really stood out — but first, a little context. My college, Manipal Institute of Technology, is located in South India. Although the student body was diverse, with people from all over the country, most of our professors were South Indian. Naturally, they celebrated festivals like Onam, Pongal, and Ugadi with great enthusiasm. However, festivals like Diwali and Holi, which are more prominent in North India, didn’t hold the same significance for them.
So, during our third year, one of our professors scheduled a lab exam on Diwali. Yes — Diwali was a regular working day there, since in the South, the holiday often falls a day before or after the main celebration (I can’t remember exactly). All of us protested and requested that she postpone the exam to the following week. But she wouldn’t budge. I still remember her saying, “What will you do on Diwali? It’s not a big deal.” The casual tone in which she dismissed it was shocking to many of us North Indian students — especially those of us who had grown up with 10-day school vacations for Dussehra and Diwali combined. We tried everything we could to convince her, but in the end, she didn’t relent.
Now, you couldn’t skip college — it was a lab exam, and missing it meant losing credits. We had either full-day or half-day schedules, and according to our timetable, that Diwali was a full day. A full day in college meant classes from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM, with sufficient breaks in between. Typically, students would wear ethnic clothes to celebrate Diwali in the evening around 7:00–7:30 PM. So, now that it was a working day and with no option to bunk, I came back to my room and started searching online for a “Diwali T-shirt” — something I could wear to college during the day to feel at least a little festive.
No decent results came up.
That moment planted a seed. Why isn’t there casual wear that reflects our festivals? Many students and young professionals would want to feel festive without having to wear heavy ethnic outfits all day.
One can argue this was in 2014, when e-commerce was still quite new. Myntra is in its early days, but even today, to my surprise, finding a good Diwali-themed T-shirt/ shirt online isn’t easy.
That’s when I realized — there’s a clear gap here, and with it, substantial scope.
– In March 2017, I was heading to a cricket stadium for the first time to watch a match live — and I was beyond excited. I wanted to wear something that showed my support for India, preferably in the national colours, but I had nothing suitable in my wardrobe. So I turned to Google. While I did find a few very specific designs, none of them were quite what I was looking for. The official jersey seemed to be the default choice as there weren’t any decent alternatives.
Cricket and other sporting events, occasions like Independence Day or Republic Day spark massive national pride. People genuinely want to show their support — but official jerseys (currently by Adidas) are priced on the higher side (₹999 and above), and since options are limited, most people end up wearing the exact same thing to the stands.
There’s a gap for affordable alternative to expensive, identical jerseys that still let fans represent India with colour and pride — in Blue, Orange, White and Green.
–I had another aha moment in June, 2017. While I was living in Bengaluru, my flatmate introduced me to Bewakoof.com. I opened their website and had the same reaction I’d had years earlier: “Man! I’d love to do something like this.”
Around the same time, I came across another brand — Chumbak. It had gained popularity for its unique, eye-catching designs, and I was curious to know more. My research led me to Alicia Souza, a designer and one of the co-founders of Chumbak. When I found her LinkedIn profile, two words stood out to me: Self-employed and Illustrator.
And in that moment, I thought to myself — Yes, that’s it. That’s the dream, right?
At least, it was for me — especially with my background in Graphic Design. The internet felt like a natural outlet — a way to showcase what I love and turn it into something real and rewarding. The biggest draw? A chance to be my own boss. It represented the best of both worlds — combining the freedom of creativity with the thrill of building something from scratch. An opportunity that brings together the artist and the entrepreneur in me. And unlike a regular 9-to-5, which can get monotonous, entrepreneurship may have its challenges but it never gets boring. Frustrating? Yes. Mundane? Never.
Challenges
It all sounded good until I actually started. Little did my naive self know just how much harder building a business would turn out to be. It surely is a steep climb.
One of the biggest challenges I faced while executing my idea was dealing with MOQ — Minimum Order Quantity — especially when the design involved patterns or stripes.
MOQ is the smallest amount of fabric or stock that a seller or manufacturer requires you to purchase in a single order. In the textile industry, MOQs are essential to keep production, logistics and, material costs manageable for suppliers. Typically, MOQs start at around 100 T-shirts but can go as high as 10,000. I even called an organization in Tirupur whose MOQ was a staggering 12,000 units. Like, whaaat?! These high MOQs can be a huge hurdle for new, small businesses. They often lead to inventory problems — a classic catch-22.
To work around this, brands tend to limit the number of colours, sizes, and styles they order, which can stifle creativity and slow down growth. So, you end up working within a lot of constraints — constantly churning out designs on plain T-shirts, ordering only men’s sizes but skipping women’s.
Where We Are Now
- Last year, however, I did make some progress. I’ve finally secured manufacturers who work with low MOQs. One of them even produces patterned shirts, which opens up exciting new possibilities.
- We were one of the sponsors of a college fest, giving us direct exposure to our core audience and some much needed early brand recognition.
- We are primarily a D2C brand, but have fulfilled multiple B2B orders to enhance recognition and increase brand visibility.
Mission and Vision
The mission is simple: to offer apparel for every occasion.
