IITian CEO recollects journey on Bewakoof's 13th birthday: Rs 6,000 rent for Mumbai slum, no AC

As clothing brand Bewakoof turned 13 on Tuesday, its founder and CEO Prabhkiran Singh took to LinkedIn to reflect on the journey so far. From working in a tiny office in a Mumbai slum with no AC and under a tin shed, to becoming a popular brand among the urban youth, Singh said that the company could survive only because they had the "resilience and rebellion" to prove something.

"Our first 'office' was in a slum in Mumbai — Rs 6,000/month rent for a small space on the top floor with a tin shed," the IIT Bombay alumnus wrote. "With plastic chairs to sit on (and no, they were not even Nilkamal) and makeshift tables, we started with full zeal. Between the Mumbai sun and the heat from our machines, it was unbearable without an AC. But our will to build? Unshakable."

Singh said that they worked out of that slum office for two years and as the company grew bigger, they moved to a bigger office in an industrial estate in Ghatkopar. "This time, we had real chairs — the ones with wheels. And an AC. I remember us playing football in the empty office, soaking in the joy of small upgrades. For two full weeks, we truly felt the perks. Thus, our journey to explain D2C to India continued, when the industry wasn’t even fully believed in," he said.

The Bewakoof CEO said that even though the company grew, the "everyday fights", the chaos, the risk, the stress, the hustle made celebrating its journey take a back seat. But when they officially launched on April 1, they decided to mark the day.