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In FY21, Sequoia-backed D2C startup Wakefit recorded 2X growth, clocking Rs 410 crore revenue, say the founders. The year earlier, it registered a turnover of Rs 197 crore. 

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the startup pivoted to the home solutions space. Besides its flagship mattresses and sleep accessories, it expanded its portfolio to include a range of ergonomic furniture, including sofas, study tables, bookshelves, shoe racks, TV units, bedside tables, coffee tables, dining tables, and more. 

“The shift towards adding furniture was always on the cards, but the pandemic pushed us to launch this earlier,” says Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder of Wakefit.

Since its inception in 2016, Wakefit has seen its EBITDA rise 10 percent year on year. In its first year of operation, the company recorded Rs 6.75 crore revenue. In FY18, it raked in Rs 27 crore and touched Rs 81 crore in FY19. 

“Our product innovation and customer-centric DNA have enabled us to achieve 2-2.5X revenue growth year-on-year. We have been profitable every year since inception, and we have a deep focus on balancing profitability with a healthy growth trajectory,” says Ankit Garg, Co-founder of Wakefit. 

Besides launching home solutions, Wakefit also focussed on Tier II and III markets. Chaitanya claims that close to 50 percent of the startup’s revenue comes from Tier II and III markets. Earlier, this market contributed to 35 percent of Wakefit’s revenue. 

The Interview

YS’s new show, Human Beyond Resources, aims to showcase extraordinary HR practices that companies are now bringing into play as the very idea of the workspace is reimagined.

In this episode, Zerodha COO Venu Madhav and its Chief Customer Officer Hanan Delvi talk about how 70 percent of the online brokerage’s staff will continue to work from home permanently, its decision to kill all work chats post 6 pm and through weekends, among several other interesting things.

Editor’s Pick: Techie Tuesday

Being from an underprivileged family, Madhusudan Anand’s childhood was spent studying at a government school near a highway in rural Karnataka, where most of his classmates were either sheepherders or farmers or had a poor background. 

Today, he is the Co-founder and CTO of Ambee, a global environmental intelligence startup that measures air quality data in real-time through AI and IoT, valued at $18 million. Read more to know his journey.

Startup Spotlight

This Ahmedabad-based wealth management startup is helping Bharat invest

As an undergraduate, and especially after an internship with Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund, Saumya Shah saw a lot of his friends were asking him for investment advice. Soon, he found himself helping a large audience navigate the world of financial investing.

Even after he moved to the US for work, he realised that even the most upwardly mobile professionals needed help and hand-holding in investing — and that was the epiphany that brought Tarrakki to life.

Read more.

News & Updates

• Bitcoin price crashed by around 9 percent on Monday morning after reports emerged that China intensified its crackdown on the said cryptocurrency mining. Bitcoin price touched $32,658.65 from a high of $35,924.11. Moreover, Ether also dropped to a low of $1995.49.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“It is very hard to build an inferior product into a brand. You need to be on your toes, you need to respond to customers and build customer trust in the best possible way otherwise your brand will not stand the test of time.”

— Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder, Wakefit

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