Entrepreneur Stories
Pepperfry – How An Idea Became A Fortune Spinner
Remember the early days when shopping for furniture was an arduous and painful task? Now, however, thanks to the founders of Pepperfry, the days of trudging through narrow roads and haggling for cheap furniture are a thing of the past. Founded by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, the idea of launching an online store came over a lunch which changed the way people bought furniture online.
The beginning
When Murty and Shah met at a mutual friend’s office over lunch, the duo realised they were all working on addressing a major gap in the industry: the absence of one platform catering to all your lifestyle needs. A tissue paper turned out to be the piece of paper where plans for the future of Pepperfry were carefully sketched out. Back then, the platform didn’t focus on just furniture, but had a wide array of categories, ranging over products like jewelry, fashion and clothes.
While the idea was written and the team was ready to hit the ground running, the initial round of funding of $ 5 million from Norwest didn’t come in till almost 6 months after signing the deal. The months when the funds didn’t come in were extremely nerve wracking for the founders. The team of ten were running low on morale and the website was not launched yet. Things were so bad, the team were down to the last Rs. 10 lakhs and thought the time had come to give up all hope.
On the day the founders were almost ready to pull the plug on their relationship with Norwest, an investment came in, like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. With renewed hope and an influx of $ 5 million in cash, the founders of Pepperfry were all set to make a splash in the industry. Through the years, the team started growing in size and decided the time had come to narrow down to just one specific line: furniture.
The future
By the time the team started growing and making an impact, the furniture industry had not started blooming. One of the major hurdles Pepperfry had to work over was to ensure the products people were ordering online had the exact specifications. If the specifications weren’t met to perfection, the team could lose existing, as well as perspective customers, resulting in a decline of income for the company. Perhaps one of the things which sets Pepperfry apart is, Pepperfry isn’t a search driven website, but is more focused on improving the user’s browsing experience. Further, by focusing primarily on in house logistics, the Pepperfry team reduced the delivery time drastically (from 25 days to 11 days.) In Mumbai, the team worked to bring down the time of delivery to same day delivery! By developing a logistics algorithm for the delivery vehicles, the Pepperfry team can locate whether the truck has delivered the furniture on time or not.
While initially catering only to the online market, Pepperfry branched out to include the offline customers as well and by 2014, the Company opened its stores across India. Today, this startup accounts for more than 50 % of the furniture industry’s market share and by looking at its growth chart, Pepperfry has no plans of stopping any time soon!
A decade ago, the success of a startup was measured largely by its ability to raise capital. Today, a different metric is gaining importance: the ability to generate meaningful exits for investors. Large stake sales by early backers are becoming increasingly common, not because growth opportunities have disappeared, but because India’s startup ecosystem is entering a more mature phase where capital is expected to complete its full cycle from investment to returns.
This evolution is particularly significant for consumer brands that have successfully blended technology, retail, and strong brand-building. Companies that were once viewed as high-risk startup bets are now attracting institutional investors capable of absorbing large transactions. Such developments indicate that these businesses are no longer being valued solely on future potential; they are increasingly being assessed on operational performance, market leadership, and long-term profitability. In many ways, investor exits are becoming a validation of a company’s ability to create lasting enterprise value.
The broader implication extends beyond a single company or investor. Successful exits encourage more global capital to enter India’s startup ecosystem because they demonstrate that liquidity opportunities exist at scale. As more venture-backed companies approach public listings, secondary transactions, or strategic investments, the focus of founders and investors alike may shift from chasing headline valuations to building durable businesses. The next chapter of India’s startup journey will likely be defined not just by the creation of unicorns, but by the creation of companies capable of delivering sustained returns to all stakeholders.
Apple has unveiled the new MacBook Air with M5 chip, starting at $999 for 13-inch and $1,299 for 15-inch models. The MacBook Air M5 boasts a 2nm M5 chip with 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, and 50 TOPS Neural Engine for seamless AI tasks like real-time translation and 8K editing. Up to 22 hours of battery life, Thunderbolt 5, and Wi-Fi 7 make it the ultimate ultraportable, now 10% thinner at 0.44 inches with fanless cooling.
Key MacBook Air M5 features include Liquid Retina XDR display (500 nits, nano-texture option), 12MP Center Stage camera, and six-speaker Spatial Audio. Colors like new Sky Blue join Midnight and Starlight. Pre-orders are live today, with macOS Sequoia 15.4 enhancing Apple Intelligence and iPhone Continuity for students, pros, and remote workers.
Why buy MacBook Air M5 now? It outpaces Snapdragon X Elite rivals with ecosystem magic and future-proof performance, eyeing top 2026 laptop sales. CEO Tim Cook calls it “more capable than ever.” Visit apple.com for M5 MacBook deals and specs.
Delhi NCR-based gaming startup Zupee has acquired Mumbai-based microdrama platform Vertical TV in a deal valued under INR 40 Cr. This move strengthens Zupee Studio, its short-video arm launched in September 2025, by integrating Vertical TV’s expertise in bite-sized dramas like romance and thrillers.
Facing challenges from India’s 2025 real-money gaming ban, Zupee valued at $1 Bn after raising $120 Mn has pivoted to non-gaming content, including recent layoffs of 40% of its workforce. The acquisition builds on its November 2025 purchase of Australian AI firm Nucanon for interactive storytelling, targeting its 200 Mn+ users with engaging, mobile-first formats.
This deal underscores the rising microdrama trend in India, helping Zupee diversify amid regulatory pressures and compete in the short-video space dominated by quick, shareable content for on-the-go audiences.
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