'What's in a name' -- the founders of Burger Bae, the Ludhiana-based startup whose name sounds like a fast-food chain but sells fashion, may have an answer to this popular line from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
During their recent pitch on Shark Tank India: Season 4, the founder trio of Rohan Kashyap, Janvi Sikaria, and Ojasvee Kashyap described their fashion brand as a “toxic college girl you can’t resist”. No surprises, the 'sharks' were hooked.
Incorporated in 2019 by Rohan, with Ojasvee Kashyap and Janvi Sikaria joining in 2021 and 2023, respectively, Burger Bae offers affordable street style fashion apparels such as T-shirts, bottoms, cord-sets and hoodies, and dresses. According to Sikaria, Burger Bae doesn’t rely on an in-house designer but takes inspiration from its customers and a network of influencers who share the latest trends.
The founders were on Shark Tank to raise Rs 1 crore for a 2.5 per cent stake, effectively taking the company valuation to Rs 20 crore. Their revenue goal was to hit an annual turnover of Rs 15 crore.
However, not all investors were convinced. While Viraj Bahl, who was debuting on the show, and Namita Thapar were not convinced and felt it was too early to jump in, Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal, and Kunal Bahl begged to differ. They initially countered with Rs 1 crore for 10 per cent equity before tweaking their offer to Rs 2 crore for 20 per cent.
Interestingly, Burger Bae was not conceptualized as a street style fashion brand but a social media agency to help brands leverage Instagram to grow their business. However, the pivot came when the founders realised that people were interested in the apparel showcased on its page.
Over five years later, Burger Bae boasts of more than 269,000 Instagram followers, building a loyal base of trend-savvy shoppers.