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Ansh Kadam
Founder & CEO at Bui... • 3m
This secret startup became a profitable unicorn in just 6 months, but you might not have even heard its name. And yet, it made over ₹500 Cr last year without launching a single original product. Because all it does is acquire other startups and scale them faster than the founders ever could. The name? Mensa Brands. It silently hit a $1 Billion valuation after acquiring over 20 D2C brands like MyFitness and Villain. Why? Because founder Ananth Narayanan (ex-CEO of Myntra) noticed something very specific during his years in e-commerce. Most D2C founders on Amazon can easily hit ₹25 Cr in revenue. But scaling from ₹25 Cr to ₹500 Cr? That’s where they start hitting walls: lack of capital, marketing know-how, or supply chain muscle. So Mensa does something genius. It acquires a major stake in the company and then turbocharges growth using its centralized expertise in branding, logistics, and tech. Take Villain, for example: After acquisition, Mensa grew its sales by 250% in just 1 month. And the vision? Take each of those 20+ brands past ₹1000 Cr+ in revenue. But here’s the kicker: This wasn’t even his original idea. He adapted it from the US-based Thrasio, which invented this acquisition model in 2018, but went bankrupt in early 2024 due to over-leveraging and poor brand integration. So what did Mensa do differently? 📌 They stayed lean. 📌 Picked only profitable, proven D2C brands. 📌 Integrated them deeply, not just bought them. 🚀 Actionable Advice for Founders: If you're building a D2C or e-commerce brand: Focus less on just product-market fit and more on scalable systems (marketing, operations, repeat purchase funnels). If you're between ₹10–30 Cr in revenue, start documenting every process, that’s what acquirers look for. You don’t need to exit to survive. But if you do, find partners who’ll grow your brand, not just milk it. And if you're curious to learn more real-world strategies like this on business, funding, and growth, subscribe to our newsletter via the link in the comment.
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