Rising D2C Brands
Celebrating the Founders Redefining What It Means to Build and Scale in D2C
At Rising D2C Brands 2025 by Unwind Ventures, we brought together the bold builders shaping the future of direct-to-consumer in India. These are the people not just building brands, but creating movements—scaling with purpose, resilience, and innovation.
A High-Impact Panel on Scaling D2C the Right Way
The evening kicked off with a high-energy, no-holds-barred panel featuring three inspiring D2C leaders:
- Sahar Mansoor, Founder & CEO, Bare Necessities Zero Waste Solutions — a sustainability-first, zero-waste brand leading the charge in conscious consumerism.
- Balaram Bhattacharjee, Chief Strategy Officer, Yoga Bar (Sprout Life Foods) — a health food trailblazer transitioning from niche to mass-market, without compromising on values.
- Dr. Shashank Sinha, CEO, Drools — building India’s fastest-growing pet food brand with a sharp omnichannel strategy and international momentum.
Together, they shared real stories of growth and grit—along with the early habits, systems, and mindset shifts that founders must embrace to scale successfully.
The conversation was seamlessly moderated by Urvi Jain, VC at Dexter Ventures, who brought thoughtful perspectives from the investor lens, particularly around building enduring consumer brands.
Partner Session: Building Smart Commerce with Pine Labs Online
We were thrilled to welcome Ankur Gupta from Pine Labs Online, our event partner, who hosted a deep-dive session on modern commerce infrastructure. He highlighted how Pine Labs is empowering D2C and SMB brands to scale across channels with simplified, integrated payment solutions—transforming the way brands transact and grow in today’s omnichannel environment.
Founder Spotlight: Emerging Stars to Watch
A standout segment of the evening was the Founder Spotlight, showcasing two rising stars in the ecosystem:
- Arpit Bansal, CFA, Founder of Cohesyve — introducing a next-gen agentic SaaS platform enabling brands to make smarter, data-driven decisions.
- Rohaan Kaul, Founder of Zavops — unveiling a powerful platform connecting high-growth businesses with top-tier marketing talent.
Their stories ignited some of the most engaged and thoughtful conversations of the evening—proving once again that early-stage innovation continues to be a powerful draw for the community.
More Than an Event — A Community in Action
As with all Unwind Ventures gatherings, the true magic happened after the stage. The evening concluded with open, candid conversations, warm introductions, and shared ambition over dinner and drinks. Here’s to building the next generation of enduring D2C brands—together.