That One Idea by WaterBridge Ventures

From 2 Failures to ₹836Cr Revenue in Wakefit, India's Largest D2C Sleep Co ft. Chaitanya Ramalingegowda | That One Idea S03 E05

Episode Summary

In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, chatting with Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, co-founder of Wakefit.

Episode Notes

In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, chatting with Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, co-founder of Wakefit. 

Chaitanya graduated from the National Institute of Engineering, Mysore in 2002 and did his MBA from ISB Hyderabad in 2005. Wakefit is an innovation-driven sleep and home solutions company, aiming to revolutionize the quality of sleep among Indians. After building a successful line of sleep products, Wakefit has launched a line of home products, ergonomically designed for the modern Indian household. Till date, Wakefit has serviced over 800K customers, sold over 1800K products and spent 1500+ hours in R&D. 

We dive into Chaitanya's childhood, his tryst with failures in two startups, how his indomitable spirit to be an entrepreneur got him to give Wakefit a shot, his team and customer love that kept him going despite rejections from the initial 42 investors, how Ankit and his middle-class upbringing made the company focussed on building from first principles and his learnings from managing the diverse Wakefit board. 

Key Moments during this podcast - 

(00:00): Introduction of Chaitanya, co-founder of Wakefit 
(00:18): CR’s nomadic childhood across 16 schools 
(2:15): Finding the courage to start again after two failed startups 
(06:55): Customer love convincing CR to go all-in on Wakefit 
(11:03): Building Wakefit from first principles - sustainability, profitability and consumer focus 
(15:02): Relationship with Ankit, CR's co-founder 
(17:04): Finally convincing the 43rd investor on an “irrational” idea 
(20:10): Wakefit is a consumer-led product company 
(24:08): Why go offline, when online can give a non-linear scale? 
(26:59): Kumbhakaran’s LinkedIn, sleep internships and other marketing campaigns 
(30:24): Character traits that fit into the Wakefit hood 
(34:13): To listen, or not to listen, that is the question 
(36:27): Founder-to-founder ties form strong support systems 
(40:47): The real board meeting happens before the board meeting 
(43:23): What's in store for Wakefit in 2024?

Relevant Links: 

WaterBridge Ventures: https://www.waterbridge.vc/ 
Wakefit: https://www.wakefit.co/ 

Linkedin Profiles: 

Chaitanya Ramalingegowda: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaitanyar/ 
Anjali Sosale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkamma/ 
WaterBridge Ventures: www.linkedin.com/company/waterbridgeventures 

You can also listen to this podcast on 
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Q8_szqrtilk
Apple Podcast: