New Delhi, September 17, 2025 — Siddharth Shankar, founder of Tails Group who completed a $500+ million exit in 2024, is challenging India’s startup ecosystem to reconsider its relationship with venture capital funding. Having built his consumer brand empire entirely through bootstrapping over seven years, Shankar argues that too many entrepreneurs are sacrificing long-term value and strategic control for investor validation rather than focusing on sustainable business fundamentals.
The Bootstrap Success Story
Shankar’s entrepreneurial journey began at age 18 during his engineering studies, ultimately growing Tails Group to encompass over 200 owned brands serving 150,000 customers globally with $8+ billion in turnover—all achieved without external venture capital funding. His recent exit demonstrates the viability of alternative growth strategies in an ecosystem increasingly dependent on external funding rounds.
“Your equity represents every part of your entrepreneurial journey—it’s fundamentally part of who you are as a founder,” Shankar explained during a recent appearance on the ‘Beyond the Noise‘ podcast. “The question every entrepreneur should ask is: why would you sell that for external validation?”
The Strategic Control Problem
Through his current work with global distributor Komerz, Shankar observes what he characterizes as systematic value destruction across Indian startups. He points to a pattern where promising entrepreneurs with viable products and genuine customer bases are trading significant ownership stakes not out of capital necessity, but for perceived credibility and market validation.
“I regularly encounter founders who’ve developed exceptional products, built real customer relationships, and generate meaningful revenue—yet they’re surrendering 20-30% of their company primarily to gain investor association,” Shankar notes. “They’re not raising capital because their business requires it; they’re doing it because it’s become the expected path to perceived success.”
The long-term implications are substantial: “By the time these founders want to pursue global expansion or make pivotal strategic decisions, they retain only 40-45% ownership of companies they created from nothing. Every major decision requires board approval from stakeholders who may never have directly engaged with their customers.”
Customer-Centric vs. Investor-Driven Decision Making
Shankar identifies a fundamental tension between investor expectations and authentic brand building, particularly in consumer-focused businesses. His experience suggests that equity dilution often compromises product development and customer experience.
“When your primary accountability shifts from customers to investors, your entire decision-making framework changes,” he explains. “Product development starts happening in boardrooms rather than through deep customer understanding and market feedback.”
This dynamic becomes particularly problematic during international expansion, where Shankar’s work with established global brands like Unilever and Diageo reveals structural challenges for funded startups. “Investors typically expect rapid returns through direct-to-consumer platforms, but authentic consumer brands require relationship building, physical market presence, and long-term strategic thinking that funding timelines often can’t accommodate.”
Alternative Growth Philosophy
Shankar’s bootstrap approach prioritized customer behavior analysis over investor presentation cycles. This methodology enabled Tails Group to expand into new markets based on genuine customer demand rather than board-mandated growth metrics.
“Our expansion decisions were driven entirely by customer requests and market validation, not by investor growth expectations,” he explains. “This customer-first approach, enabled by complete strategic control, allowed us to build authentic relationships across our global customer base of 150,000 users.”
The approach also maintained product integrity: “Customers don’t evaluate your business based on funding announcements—they care exclusively about whether your product delivers superior value compared to alternatives in the market.”
Industry Implications and Recommendations
As India’s startup ecosystem continues maturing, Shankar’s perspective offers a counterpoint to prevailing funding strategies. His message particularly resonates with entrepreneurs observing peers trade equity for market validation rather than strategic necessity.
“Your equity represents every late-night problem-solving session, every customer interaction, every product iteration you’ve implemented to build your business,” Shankar emphasizes. “That equity is the tangible representation of your entrepreneurial journey and vision—why would you trade that for external validation?”
For consumer-focused founders, his recommendations are direct: “Maintain focus on your core brand proposition, develop deep market understanding, and commit fully to your vision. No external stakeholder can represent your brand with the authenticity and passion you bring as the founder. However, this requires treating your equity as the embodiment of your life’s work—because that’s precisely what it represents.”
Methodology and Resources
Entrepreneurs interested in exploring Shankar’s bootstrap methodology and strategic insights can access detailed discussions on the Beyond the Noise podcast, where he elaborates on sustainable growth strategies and customer-centric business development approaches.
About Siddharth Shankar Siddharth Shankar is the founder of Tails Group, which he sold for over $500 million in 2024, and current founder of Komerz, a global omnichannel distribution company. Having launched his first business at age 18, Shankar has built consumer brands serving customers across six continents using exclusively bootstrap funding strategies.
Podcast Reference: Beyond the Noise – Full interview with Siddharth Shankar available on major podcast platforms
