Accenture Techie Quits For 'Peace Of Mind'; Builds Apparel Startup That Now Earns ₹1 Crore A Month

Supreeth Kashyap gave up a comfortable corporate job in Bengaluru to build a business from his hometown of Mysuru - a decision that has grown into Wellbi, an apparel startup now clocking around Rs. 1 crore in monthly revenue and preparing to expand into the US market. This positive spin-off story has gone viral, as tech employees are now looking at alternate options of income, given the volatile job market.

From Accenture to entrepreneurship

Kashyap, 30, is a Computer Science graduate from The National Institute of Engineering, Mysore. After graduating in 2017, he took up a job at Accenture in Bengaluru, but found the city's pace didn't suit him. He told Hindustan Times that the 'peace of mind' he was looking for was missing in Bengaluru, and that he had specifically wanted to build something from Mysuru instead, drawn to the city's relative calm compared to the crowd, traffic and pressure of India's bigger metros.

He quit Accenture in 2018 to work as a freelance consultant, before launching Wellbi in 2021 - a brand making essential and athletic wear from sustainable, organic fabrics.

An 'accidental' entrepreneur with a bigger mission

Kashyap describes his move into business as happening more by accident than by design, saying his corporate job wasn't fully satisfying and that he wanted to create meaningful employment opportunities instead. Apparel was simply the category he settled on. His broader goal, he said, was to generate jobs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and rural India, so that people wouldn't feel compelled to migrate to urban centres for work.

Today, Wellbi employs more than 15 full-time staff in Mysuru and works with another 40 artisans engaged in yarn-making, weaving and stitching.

From Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore a month

Kashyap started Wellbi with around ₹10 lakh, drawing on his own savings and family support, which he later grew into an initial investment of roughly Rs. 50 lakh as the business gained traction. The company subsequently raised about Rs. 3 crore from angel investors.

He detailed the startup's revenue climb year on year: about Rs. 11 lakh in its first year, Rs. 70 lakh in the second, Rs. 2.4 crore in the third, and Rs. 5.6 crore in FY 2025-26. The company is now targeting Rs. 15-16 crore in annual turnover for the current year, with revenue projected to touch ₹16 crore by March 2027 - translating to roughly Rs. 1 crore in monthly revenue at present.

Mistakes along the way

Kashyap was candid about the missteps he made building the business, calling himself an 'accidental entrepreneur' with no family background in business. Early on, he said he over-invested in fashion photography before realising that product strategy needed to come first, along with a genuine product-market fit.

His second mistake, he said, was overhiring. At Rs. 20 lakh in monthly revenue, the company had 13-14 employees; today, doing roughly five times that revenue, it runs with close to 10 people. He attributed the earlier bloat to hiring for narrow roles instead of multitaskers.

Recognition and what's next

Kashyap said Wellbi has picked up admirers among fellow founders, including Frido's Ganesh Sonawane and Bounce co-founder Vivekananda Hallekere, and that the company has supplied T-shirts to corporates including Meta and Zerodha.

The brand is now preparing to launch on Amazon in the US. Kashyap was firm, however, that Wellbi is not chasing fast-fashion trends, saying the focus remains on comfort and breathability rather than following seasonal styles.