100+ Student Entrepreneurs from 45 Countries Join India’s Booming D2C Market with 20 New Ventures

Mentored by India’s D2C pioneers, including Priyanka Gill, founder of POPxo and Co-founder of The Good Glamm Group, and Arjun Vaidya, India’s first Ayurveda unicorn builder and Venture Lead at Verlinvest, Tetr students will be gaining unparalleled insights into building and scaling impactful businesses

New Delhi : In an interesting development, 100+ international student entrepreneurs from over 45 countries including the US, UK, UAE, Germany, Japan, and more, move to India to launch 20 D2C ventures over the next six months. They aim to tap into the country’s thriving Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) market, valued at over USD 100 billion and growing at approximately 20% annually. The ventures will span a broad range of categories, including cosmetics, confectionery and healthy snacks, sports equipment, apparel and clothing, fitness products, and beverages. From pickleball racquets to protein ladoos, each product is designed to tap into India’s evolving consumer landscape.

The students will receive mentorship from some of India’s most prominent D2C entrepreneurs and investors, among them Priyanka Gill, Venture Partner at Kalaari Capital and Founder of POPxo/MyGlamm, and Arjun Vaidya, whose Ayurveda-centric Dr. Vaidya’s was acquired by the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group in 2019 for INR 32.2 crore. Both mentors bring a wealth of experience in brand building, go-to-market strategies, and venture fundraising. Gill’s content-to-commerce enterprise has surpassed INR 600 crore in annual revenues, while Vaidya remains an active early-stage investor and mentor through V3 Ventures, encouraging up-and-coming consumer brands to scale in India’s burgeoning market.

In addition to these mentorship opportunities, Tetr students were recently a part of D2C Founder Connect – a Networking Mixer, where 23 of India’s top D2C founders from Perfora, Keventers, PeeSafe, Lenskart, and ClearDekho visited the campus. In a dynamic speed networking-style format, students were divided into groups and had the unique opportunity to engage directly with these founders. They brainstormed product ideas, discussed marketing strategies, and explored scaling solutions, gaining invaluable insights from some of the top leaders in the D2C space.

Priyanka Gill, Venture Partner, Kalaari Capital, reflecting on India becoming a magnet for international talent, commented, “The D2C market in India is unmatched in its speed of growth and consumer diversity. It’s an ideal landscape for anyone looking to refine a D2C concept and scale fast. It is great to see ambitious students from across the world coming to India with an aim to learn and participate in the growth we are witnessing here, first-hand.“

Arjun Vaidya, who led one of India’s pioneering D2C exits, added, “I have seen the quality of these students and the robust ideas they can come up with. This term I am sure that with the right guidance and market understanding they’re poised to create some truly disruptive d2c brands. Watch out!”

Andrea Chapman from USA, who is all set to launch ServeClub with 5 other batchmates from USA, Germany, India, and Cuba will cater to the country’s growing obsession with Pickleball added, is one of those eager to capitalize on the potential. “India feels like the perfect testing ground. There is a huge appetite for new products, and learning directly from the people who’ve already built and scaled brands here gives us an incredible advantage. We are hopeful that we will be able to catch the pulse of Indian customers and offer products that would resonate with their needs and taste,” she said.

During the first semester in Dubai, students engaged in a mix of classroom learning and immersive business experiences, including participation in GITEX Global 2024, visits to Emirates’ Ebdaa initiative, and interactions with merchants at the iconic Gold Souk market. Additionally, students launched several innovative dropshipping businesses, showcasing their ability to apply classroom learning to real-world ventures. These businesses, spanning diverse product categories and targeting global markets, collectively generated 138,000 USD in revenue within 4 months.

These student entrepreneurs, enrolled at Tetr, a leading global business school focused on entrepreneurship, are on a mission to build multiple successful ventures across UAE, India, Singapore, Italy, Ghana, and the US over the course of the next four years. Tetr’s cohort comprises over 110 students selected from a highly competitive pool, with an acceptance rate of just 2.6% and an average SAT score of 1475. Many of them have turned down offers from prestigious institutions like Dartmouth and King’s College to focus on a more hands-on entrepreneurial education spanning across 8 different countries. The diverse cohort includes venture-backed entrepreneurs, climate activists, social media influencers, global TEDx speakers, and national chess champions.