Been there, won that: How Ashutosh Valani cracked D2C thrice

Repetition counts as an established form of punishment in Greek mythology. Do it once, twice...eternally. If only Sisyphus or Ixion could narrate their burden. In the startup realm, however, “again” doesn’t signify torment or unalterable outcomes. It’s a path to another beginning, a pivot and, in propitious conditions, sizable gains.

There is a method to how founders build businesses over and over, and India’s direct-to-consumer sector, a corner of ecommerce that exploded in size in 2020, offers some notable examples of such playbooks. 

Entrepreneur Ashutosh Valani launched, scaled and sold off two D2C brands in four years, and he is now in the third cycle of creating product-led value.