Episode 77- Turning Adversity into an Advantage: Building Wakefit, Importance of Sleep, How to build a great company, w/Chaitanya Ramalingegowda

The One Percent Project- Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Resilience

About Chaitanya Ramalingegowda:

This episode of The One Percent Project tells the story of Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, the co-founder of Wakefit, a household name in India synonymous with quality sleep.

Chaitanya's journey to Wakefit is a testament to persistence and unwavering determination. Before starting Wakefit, Chaitanya had nineteen years of experience spanning entrepreneurship, management consulting and marketing. Wakefit, his third start-up stint, co-founded with Ankit Garg, has emerged as a game-changer in the world of sleep solutions. Crafting products that redefine comfort and wellness, Wakefit's journey parallels Chaitanya's own pursuit of excellence in entrepreneurship.

In this episode, Chaitanya talks about his remarkable journey, an expedition marked by uphill battles, shares the challenges he faced, the motivations that fuelled his drive, and the strategies that led Wakefit to its current stature. From the tough decisions to the transformative moments, Chaitanya's story is a masterclass in turning adversity into an advantage.

Join us as we dive into the narrative of Chaitanya's entrepreneurial journey and explore the grit, resilience, and insights that turned a vision into a successful venture.

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In this conversation, he talks about:

00:00 Intro 02:19 Why is sleep important? 08:06 What was India's association with sleep and mattress before Wakefit? 12:24 Chaitanya's entrepreneurial journey: Setting up English classes in a garage as a youngster? Setting up a failed content startup with friends. Finding a job post his startup failure 32:32 Founder Market Fit 35:32 Building Wakefit: Is a startup an extreme expression of the founders? At what point did Chaitanyia and Ankit become bottlenecks in Wakefit's growth? Setting up internal feedback loops. 44:03 Marketing Vs Branding: One is built, and the other gets built. 49:36 How has packaging accelerated Wakefit's growth? 52:41 40 investor rejections- Chaitanya and Ankit built a business which didn't even have a category on Amazon. 55:35 Importance of capital allocation 57:04 Counterintuitive insights about D2C business. 58:15 How do you build a great company? 1:00:12 Identifying a Hero Product. 1:02:02 Is it service or product- that leads one to become an industry leader? 1:03:34 Competition. 1:06:11 What is the kindest thing anyone has done for Chaitanya? 1:08:59 Advice to your younger self. 1:09:28 His superpower. 1:09:50 Three Books he recommends