Announcing The D2CX Cohort 4: Enabling New-Age Brands To Achieve 10X Scale

India’s D2C ecosystem has not just gained prominence in the past decade, but has become a category by itself with its own unique dynamics that traditional FMCG retail brands never have to deal with. 

The market, which is expected to reach $300 Bn by 2030, is seeing rapid entry of players from diverse categories including health, food and beverage, fashion, lifestyle, home decor and other categories. And just when we think there’s no room for yet another brand, there comes another disruption. 

And that’s the reality of the Indian D2C and new-age consumer brands space. The vast breadth and depth of the Indian market allows multiple brands to thrive and the penchant for experimentation among the most active online shoppers means that every brand has a chance. 

It’s all about knowing how to attract the customer and enabling them to experience the core values behind the product without friction. Whether this means solving the many distribution challenges in an omnichannel world, or creating the right customer experience touchpoints that drive virality and traction. 

These are challenges that all D2C founders face in the early stages of their brand’s journey. After guiding more than 140 entrepreneurs through our D2CX programme, Inc42 is now ready for the next cohort of early stage D2C founders. 

The fourth cohort of D2CX — applications for which are now open — will continue the hybrid model and enable early stage D2C founders to learn proven scaling up strategies from the top 1% of D2C leaders in India.

Over the past three cohorts of D2CX, Inc42 has enabled D2C founders to learn in a collaborative manner, expand their brand’s presence, scale up growth and revenue and overcome other challenges that come along the way. 

“Twelve weeks ago, I joined the D2CX program by Inc42 with a cluttered mind and the ambition to grow my brand 10X. I’ll be honest, as I was building Hustle Culture, I had many unresolved questions. D2CX was one of the best decisions I made this year. The programme not only provided highly practical and impactful insights but also the confidence to build both a short-term roadmap and a long-term vision for the brand simultaneously,” said Hustle Culture’s founder Sumant Agarwal.

The 12-week programme is an amalgamation of the right mentorship, guidance and support from experienced founders.

Drawing from the success achieved by D2CX fellows in the past cohorts, we are very excited to now introduce our fourth cohort, with the course beginning on February 27, 2025. 

In this 12-week programme, founders are guided through various aspects including product, branding, marketing, omnichannel growth, supply chain strategies and much more.

“When we started building EcoDhaga we realised the potential for people, planet and also as a business success.The D2CX programme has given us the tools and resources to scale and build the business in a way that’s approachable for our growing community. Being selected in the Top 8 was icing on the cake! And what an incredible learning journey it has been. Made richer with all our fellow cohort members,” said EcoDhaga’s cofounder Sanjana Swaroop.

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Why D2CX?

Being a D2C founder at this point is nothing less than running a marathon. That’s what the founders of some of the biggest brands and investors backing these brands believe. 

While many brands have the first-mover advantage, the Indian market still has room for many new players to enter and bring innovative solutions suited to the vast customer base. This room to grow means D2C brands are not only competing with new players every day, but also need to improve on what has worked for them thus far. 

Relying on marketing to increase brand visibility and sales means brands have to sacrifice margins and often burn cash without seeing the outcomes. If early stage brands do not respond to shifting consumer preferences, then they risk entering a death spiral and might have to shut shop. 

But early stage brands are also best equipped to be agile, so they do have the advantage in an evolving market. How can brands and founders unlock this advantage? 

Inc42’s D2CX will empower founders to learn from the strategies and success stories of the most prominent Indian brands. Knowing how they overcame challenges on their scaling-up journey can be incredibly valuable, but at the same time, D2CX will enable founders to apply these learnings for their specific brands. 

D2CX is built to power the future of D2C founders, address modern problems for D2C businesses, and importantly, supports Inc42’s broader vision of building the D2C ecosystem and establishing India as one of the global leaders in the space of consumer brands.

Inc42 has been at the forefront of India’s D2C movement, championing brands and the D2C segment for a number of years. This year, we hosted the first-ever in-person edition of The D2C Summit — our fifth overall— featuring sessions led by more than 40 D2C leaders and 300 attendees growing in this space.

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And continuing our tradition of recognising brands that are actually growing and thriving, we have also opened registrations for the fourth edition of Inc42’s flagship list: FAST42.

The D2CX programme begins with an in-person orientation where fellows get to engage with their peers and the instructors. Over the next 11 weeks, we will bring more than 30 D2C leaders to cover topics on creating a robust business model, building a compelling brand, growth modeling, omnichannel strategies, optimisation of the supply chain, scaling operations, nurturing an early team, and effective fundraising strategies.

In addition to sessions, there will be tasks for each week, with reviews and feedback to ensure continuous progress.

In week 12, Inc42 will be hosting an in-person convocation, thereby offering the fellow the opportunity to meet the top D2C founders, network, and begin forging valuable connections. The hybrid structure allows fellows to learn online while making essential in-person interactions to foster meaningful relationships within the D2C ecosystem.

Who D2CX Is For?

We welcome ambitious D2C founders who run new-age retail brands with at least INR 5 Lakh in monthly revenue and with an operational website. D2CX is curated specifically to support new-age brands, allowing participation in finding co-founders and teammates, networking with angel investors and VCs, and connecting with a powerful, like-minded peer group.

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