Sepoy & Co - Spotting Trends & Building for D2C with Angad Soni

We have Angad Soni from Sepoy & Co. - a manufacturer of high end tonic water and carbonated beverages.

The very idea of of a high quality tonic water did not exist in India before 2017 or 18. It's only in these last few years that we've seen the simultaneous explosion of domestic gin and then tonic right along with them as a great pairing. Now, Sepoy & Co is leading the charge in a fast growing industry. However, to see such a trend entering the country and making a bet on it is no easy feat.

That's where we focus the start of our discussion - how did Angad see this trend and why did he decide to bet on it? We then move onto the operational aspects of starting a brand new D2C business - how do you get packaging & product made, why did he decide to go Direct 2 consumer and how do you get your first 100 customers? We even have a quick chat at the end on why Angad bootstrapped his business with money from friends and family for so long. Consumer startups generally need a lot of money to grow across the country and most founders prefer to take VC money early on.