A 27-year-old quit his INR 50 Lakhs pa job at Disney Hotstar in 2019 has built a Rs.350 crore sneaker empire—from scratch.
Meet Utkarsh Gupta, Founder of Comet.
While studying in Chicago, Utkarsh noticed that sneaker lovers were willing to spend USD 200 – 500 to customise their footwear into wearable art. Back in India, even footwear sold at INR 5,000 had zero personalization.
He flew to China to seek a market understanding and spent the next 8 months learning sneaker manufacturing first hand.
Along with co-founder Dishant Daryani, Utkarsh built India’s first premium sneaker factory and launched Comet in 2023 with just four perfected designs—priced 60% cheaper than internationally acclaimed brands.
“We have done the rounds in the corporate world. Valuable experiences indeed, but they never really got us going. Both of us got sucked in by the excitement of returning to India from Chicago and Boston to start something new, something we were super passionate about: sneakers”, said Utkarsh & Dishant.
“We aim to push the envelope on design, on storytelling and on craftsmanship. Join us, support us, egg us on as we create the sneaker brand that India has long waited for!”, they added.
The brand has opened a stunning new store at Lakeshore Mall in Hyderabad, it’s third in the city.
Editor’s Note
Comet Footwear is a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) lifestyle sneakers brand with retro/desi flair, aiming for premium style at accessible prices.
The brand has raised INR 54 Cr (USD 5.5 Mn), notably from Elevation Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, AngelList India, etc. and is valued at INR 167 Cr.
The brand had an annual revenue of INR 32 Cr (USD 3.75 Mn).
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