New Delhi | February 25, 2026: With India’s D2C market expanding at nearly 20% annually, the second edition of TiE Delhi-NCR’s D2C Summit concluded today after a day of high-intensity dialogues, sectoral deep dives, and curated capital conversations. The Summit brought together 300+ founders, investors, and operators across lifestyle, beauty, personal care, food & beverage, and Bharat-first brands, decoding the structural shifts shaping India’s $100B+ D2C opportunity, from open commerce and omnichannel scale to sustainable growth and profitability.
Summit Highlights
- Agenda Focus: Brand-building, technology adoption, scaling economics, logistics innovation, and consumer behaviour in a post-personalisation era.
- Keynote: Harish Bijoor set the context for India’s consumer-led retail evolution.
- Investor Lens: Kannan Sitaram (Fireside Ventures) outlined frameworks for value creation, capital efficiency, disciplined scaling, and long-term brand building.
- Investor Cohort: Leading investors including Yash Dholakia (Sauce VC), Addison Appu (ThinKuvate), Aditya Arora (FAAD Ventures), Abhishek Kakkar (IAN Group), Bhavika Nijhawan (Vitalis Capital), Ojasvi Babber (Amity Innovation Incubator), Shweta Tripathi (V3 Ventures), Amit Singhal (Fluid VC), and Rishabh Katiyar (InfoEdge Ventures) drove candid conversations around early-stage capital, unit economics, brand–market fit, and building enduring consumer businesses.
Ecosystem Enablers
India’s D2C growth engine was powered by fintech, AI, and infrastructure innovation:
- Cashfree Payments: Yogesh Miglani and Aditi Olemann spotlighted checkout intelligence and seamless payments as conversion levers.
- Zoom: Swati Agarwal emphasised connected CX as a scale differentiator.
- Base: Pradeep Sekhar Chandrasekaran decoded automation-led efficiencies.
- Shopify, Cloud Ambassadors, FarEye: Showcased operational AI as a profitability driver.
- Google, NIXI, Skye Air Mobility, Shadowfax: Reinforced scalable distribution.
- ONDC: Rohit Lohia outlined how open commerce is reshaping market access and economics for D2C brands.
Founder Insights
Category-defining founders shared playbooks on authenticity, design, and retention:
- Siddharth Sharma (Days Ahead), Akriti Gupta (Loopie), Jatin Mahendru (Kleenest), Jatan Bawa (Perfora), and Rachit Jain (Bruno Milano).
- Neha Kant (Clovia) and Shyam Sundar (DeHaat) drove the omnichannel scale conversation.
- Nitesh Singh (Blue Tea), Arpana Shahi (Gabit), and Manasa Garemella (Kindlife.in) highlighted disciplined retail strategy, affordability, and Bharat-focused growth.
Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO, Skye Air Mobility, noted: “What really determines whether a brand breaks out is how well it builds its distribution and enabler ecosystem. Founders need to understand their cost structures deeply because cost is as critical as marketing. At scale, disciplined distribution and cost control separate durable brands from short-term growth stories.”
TiE Delhi-NCR Perspective
Upasana Sharma, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR, said: “Founders today are operating in a market where consumer expectations evolve faster than categories themselves. Winning brands won’t just be digital-first, they will be culture-first, operationally disciplined, and technologically accelerated. By convening leaders across capital, commerce, and capability-building, we are reinforcing TiE Delhi-NCR’s commitment to helping founders build durable, globally competitive brands from India.”
Summit Partners
This year’s Summit was supported by Cashfree Payments, Zoom, Masters’ Union, Cloud Ambassador, Base, and Skye Air Mobility, strengthening the event’s focus on technology-led enablement, operational excellence, and ecosystem-scale innovation.
About TiE Delhi-NCR
For over two decades, TiE Delhi-NCR has fostered entrepreneurship as one of the most dynamic chapters of the global TiE Network. Known for its marquee events, high-impact mentoring programs, entrepreneurial awards, and investor pitch platforms, TiE Delhi-NCR plays a pivotal role in shaping India’s startup landscape.
🌐 Website: www.tie.org/delhi-ncr
