Founder – Ankit Garg
Website – Wakefit
What made you strike this business idea? What inspired you to start this company?
Wakefit : Wakefit was born out of the gap that Ankit witnessed in the market. The idea behind this came up while he was looking to buy a mattress and in his research, Ankit observed that there were endless types of mattresses, lack of innovation in this space and knowledge gaps between what consumers were looking for and what companies were selling. Because many of these companies were selling offline, there were distributor and middlemen involved which added the cost of the mattress by 3x or 4x.
Wakefit is a two-year-old innovative start-up that manufactures and sells memory foam mattresses and has quickly become an Amazon bestseller and sells more mattresses than those of the two top furniture portals of India in this category put together as per our estimation. Wakefit is one of India’s unique start-ups that research on sleep and spine support to create innovative products.
Ankit Garg, the 29-year-old founder and CEO of Wakefit, is a BTech (Chemical Engineering) graduate from IIT Roorkee and heads the entire new product development, design, research, and innovation operations of the organization. With over seven years of experience in the professional domain, Ankit initiated Wakefit’s journey in 2015. Prior to that, he served in the new product development wing at Bayer Chemicals. He was also associated with Tapzo in the process excellence department.
What does success mean to your company?
Wakefit : To us, success is defined by the number of happy customers who are actively talking about us and sharing proudly with their family and friends. Whenever customers call us to share their feedback or write positive reviews online, that makes our day. We have over 2000 online reviews, and we proudly believe that we are the most loved mattress company in the country.
How are you performing currently?
Wakefit : This year Wakefit’s projected sales are at USD 5 mn, a quantum2.5X jump from its first year of business in 2016, which was at USD1.5 mn.
Daily, 6000 people go online in India to search for their ideal mattress. Out of these, Wakefit receives daily web traffic of over 1000 people. It also enjoys an estimated 0.5% share of the mattress market, and the target is to acquire 5% in the coming months. Wakefit dominates the online segment with a market share of an estimated 20%. Through their research, they have invented a breakthrough memory foam mattress that is appropriate to all body types, terminating the need to buy different mattresses for different members of the family. The last few quarters, the company is growing at an average of 14% in terms of revenue, and over the last year, has reported a monthly CAGR of approximately 9%.
What is the biggest risk to your company?
Wakefit : We believe that the biggest risk is the abuse of trust of the Indian consumer, by unscrupulous manufacturers who cut corners and bring doubt on the overall industry. Many manufacturers either use filler material instead of good foam, poor quality fabrics and provide a low warranty (as low as 3-year warranty), which causes the average customer to view the industry with suspicion. This needs to stop, and there should be a clear distinction between the efforts put in to maintain quality.
What are your plans on funding?
Wakefit : Wakefit is a bootstrapped company and has not received any funding yet. We were profitable from the first month onwards. We may look at raising funds in 2018. We have invested over INR 1.5 crore in building assets since out launch.
What does growth mean to you and your business?
Wakefit : For us, growth is very customer driven. Amazing growth for us means more the customers across every small town of India, who feels they have got value for their hard earned money and that they have invested in a high-quality product that will last them ten years.
How does your product stand different from others in the market?
Wakefit : Wakefit, through intensive research, has managed to create one mattress for all body types using cutting-edge memory foam technology. The product is impeccably built on the parameters of pressure & weight distribution, foam quality and stress testing which makes it different from others in the market. Wakefit follows a unique delivery model. It has a product-oriented approach that splurges on research and innovation to create a product that is ahead of its times. It ships products to its customers directly from the factory, thus ensuring significant cost reduction, which gets reflected in the low prices of its products.
What is your very next goal in the coming year?
Wakefit : The company plans to scale up the business by investing in more infrastructure across the country to reduce delivery period from the current timelines. Further, the focus will be to evangelize the brand and increase awareness in more and more tier 2 towns too. This will involve targeted branding exercises with frugal and innovative techniques.
Where are your start-up services spread?
Wakefit : We deliver across India, wherever all the typical logistics firms operate and deliver.
Where do you see your business standing in the next 5 years?
Wakefit : Five years down the line, Ankit envisions the company to be the most innovative and trusted brand in the industry, by customers across the country.
