Episode Description:

"I always joke with my friends that I did an MBA in sneakers"

Utkarsh Gupta says this with a laugh, but there's more truth to it than you might think. From spending hours at malls observing sneaker shoppers to striking up conversations with strangers at airports, Utkarsh and his fellow co-founder Dishant Daryani left no stone unturned in their quest to crack the code of the Indian sneaker market.

This is the story of how two ex-consultants returned to India from the US to build Comet - a brand that embodies their passion for sneakers. In this fascinating conversation with Chirag Chadha and Vaibhav Chowdhury, the founders take us through their journey of building an aspirational lifestyle brand that resonates with India's fashion-forward youth.

They discuss how their bold design choices and staying obsessed with the details make Comet truly stand out in the market. In this episode, you will learn about:

• Identifying the whitespace in India's sneaker market
• Balancing aspiration and value in pricing
• Choosing focus over variety in the early days
• Building a hospitality-first culture
• Creativity as the X factor in building a new-age brand