From side hustles to success stories: India’s rising founders of 2026

India’s rising founders of 2026 are redefining entrepreneurship by turning side hustles into scalable, purpose-driven businesses. What began as passion projects -- built during late nights and limited resources -- have evolved into impactful ventures across technology, sustainability, consumer brands, and digital services.

These founders combine resilience with innovation, leveraging India’s growing startup ecosystem, digital access, and global outlook. Their journeys reflect a new-age mindset: experimenting fast, learning constantly, and building solutions rooted in real-world problems.

Together, they represent a generation that proves ambition, adaptability, and consistency can transform small ideas into meaningful success stories.

Arun Bakshi, Founder & CEO at Hebe Wellness

Arun Bakshi, Founder & CEO of Hebe Wellness, believes that the future of wellness in India lies at the intersection of science, tradition, and trust. After spending over 15 years in the IT industry across sales and business development, Arun transitioned into entrepreneurship in 2023, turning a side exploration into a fast-growing premium wellness brand.

Since launching Hebe Wellness in December 2023, Arun has focused on building a compliant, education-led cannabinoid wellness business, offering prescription-based CBD and THC formulations for pain, sleep, stress, and recovery. By prioritizing product efficacy, transparent communication, and direct-to-consumer engagement, Hebe has achieved steady month-on-month growth driven largely by repeat customers. For Arun, the journey reinforced that sustainable growth comes from disciplined execution, deep customer understanding, and building trust in emerging, highly regulated categories and principles that continue to shape Hebe Wellness’ rise as a credible, future-ready wellness brand.

Akshay Ralli, Co-Founder at Grandview Consulting

Akshay Ralli is part of a new generation of real estate advisors changing how luxury property is viewed in India. As the co-founder of Grandview Consulting LLP, he works with clients to position property as a long-term asset rather than a short-term transaction. His advisory focuses on Gurugram’s prime residential markets, alongside a growing presence in Goa and Dubai, where demand for globally benchmarked living continues to rise. Ralli works closely with UHNIs, NRIs and global Indians, helping them navigate market complexity with clarity and confidence. Known for his emphasis on transparency, clean structuring and informed decision-making, he has built Grandview Consulting as a relationship-led consultancy grounded in trust. Through this approach, Ralli is contributing to a more professional, institution-led direction for India’s luxury real estate market, one focused on durability, credibility, and long-term value creation.

Asma Kahali, Managing Director at Rimbaa Oak Global Pte Ltd

From discreetly relocating HNWIs during global lockdowns to structuring high-stakes defence procurements across continents, Asma Kahali has turned high-pressure operations into her signature. As the Managing Director of Rimbaa Oak Global Pte Ltd, she transitioned from behind-the-scenes advisory roles to building a formidable presence in gold trading, geopolitical consultancy, and crisis facility mobilisation.

Her journey was not one of overnight acclaim, but of steady ascendancy—layered with learnings from Singapore’s compliance corridors to the pulse of emerging markets. In 2024, she secured a prestigious Gold Trading Licence, further cementing Rimbaa Oak’s credibility in one of the world’s most regulated economies. Serving as a Convenor at BRICS CCI WE, Asma plays an active role in shaping cross-border dialogue, fostering strategic collaboration among emerging economies, and advancing women-led leadership at a multilateral level.

Asma’s success is defined not merely by balance sheets, but by the trust placed in her discretion and precision. In a world increasingly shaped by volatility, she is quietly becoming the person decision-makers turn to when timing, tact, and trust are paramount. In Asma, India has not just a rising founder—but a strategist sculpting success from silence.

Sharma BKP, Founder & CEO at Acta.ai

Acta.ai is a next-generation AI note taker and meeting intelligence platform designed to turn conversations into measurable business outcomes. Unlike traditional AI meeting tools that focus only on transcription and summaries, Acta.ai uses persona-based AI agents to understand context across sales, product, engineering, HR, customer support, and leadership meetings.

Acta.ai automatically records meetings, generates accurate transcripts, and produces structured, workflow-ready outputs such as action items, tasks, tickets, reports, and decision summaries. It integrates seamlessly with tools like Jira, Salesforce, Notion, Confluence, and Slack, ensuring meetings directly drive execution.

Acta.ai was founded by Sharma BKP, an experienced technology entrepreneur and AI leader focused on solving real-world productivity challenges. With deep expertise in AI, automation, and enterprise software, the founder’s vision is to transform meetings into actionable intelligence at scale.

Built for scale and security, Acta.ai offers enterprise-grade data protection, on-premise deployment, and compliance-ready architecture. Its ability to consolidate insights across multiple meetings creates long-term organizational memory, helping teams stay aligned and move faster.

For organizations seeking more than meeting notes, Acta.ai is the smartest AI meeting assistant for productivity, automation, and execution.

Pooja Mishra, Founder & Director at Outlook PR

When Pooja Mishra launched Outlook PR in March 2025, she wasn’t just starting another public relations consultancy; she was setting out to build a modern, performance-driven communications firm shaped by years of on-ground hustle, industry insight, and a clear vision for ethical, strategic storytelling.

With over 15 years of experience across brand communications and media strategy, Pooja’s journey reflects the evolution of India’s PR industry itself from transactional publicity to reputation-led, insight-driven communications. Having worked closely with brands across FMCG, consumer, healthcare, education, lifestyle, and social impact sectors, she observed a critical gap in the market: businesses needed not just visibility, but credibility, narrative clarity, and measurable outcomes.

What set Outlook PR apart early on was its emphasis on integrated communications, combining media relations, brand messaging, and reputation management into cohesive strategies aligned with business goals. “For me, PR has never been about noise. It’s about meaning, consistency, and trust,” says Pooja. “Every brand has a story, but the real work lies in shaping it responsibly and placing it where it truly matters. In today’s environment, communication has a direct impact on valuation, partnerships, and public perception. My vision is to build Outlook PR into a firm that helps brands grow responsibly, where reputation is treated as a long-term asset, not a short-term win.”

Sulish Verma, Director at VCJ Bespoke Jewellery

Sulish Verma is the driving force behind VCJ Bespoke Jewellery, a heritage luxury jewellery house based in New Delhi. Founded in 1982 by Mr. Ram Avtar Verma, VCJ has grown into one of India’s respected names for bespoke, handcrafted jewellery. Initially focused solely on B2B sales, the brand has now successfully entered the retail space under Sulish Verma’s leadership, representing the modern face of VCJ. As Director, Sulish Verma plays a key role in shaping VCJ’s creative vision, client experience, and brand philosophy. A graduate of Bishop Cotton School, he pursued further studies in diamonds and gemstones, building strong expertise in luxury jewellery. With a deep understanding of design and craftsmanship, he expanded VCJ into retail, actively involved in design ideation and curation. He is known for championing fine Indian jewellery techniques, including high-quality uncut Polki, exceptional gold craftsmanship, and the use of all GIA-certified diamonds and gemstones. Each creation reflects individuality, heritage, and timeless elegance.

Sulish Verma is also the public voice of VCJ Bespoke Jewellery. Through his dedication and hard work over the past three years, he has established a strong name in the jewellery and bespoke luxury segment. Today, his presence is widely recognised within India’s luxury landscape. With a deep respect for tradition and a forward-looking vision, Sulish Verma continues to position VCJ Bespoke Jewellery as a symbol of enduring luxury, artisanal excellence, and personalised elegance.

Kartikeya Gupta, Founder at Smylo

Kartikeya Gupta is the Founder of Smylo, India’s first clean, no-preservative cat food brand built to meet the true nutritional needs of cats. Smylo was born from a simple insight: most cat food in India is over-processed, poorly labeled, and not aligned with feline biology. To change this, Smylo offers fresh, real-meat meals with zero preservatives, transparent sourcing, and vet-formulated nutrition.

Before founding Smylo, Kartikeya worked in early-stage venture investing at Arkam Ventures, partnering with founders building for Middle India—an experience that shaped Smylo’s honest, scalable, and sustainable approach. Today, Smylo is trusted by thousands of cat parents across India, supported by a 25+ member team, and available nationwide across leading quick-commerce and e-commerce platforms.

Devansh Lakhani, Founder & Director at Lakhani Financial Service (LFS)

Devansh Lakhani is an Angel Investor and Seed-Stage Investment Banker, Founder & Director of Lakhani Financial Service (LFS), and a TiE Mumbai Charter Member. Over the past five years, he has partnered with 450+ startups, helping them collectively raise ₹300+ million through structured fundraising and strategic advisory. Devansh specializes in raising ₹2–20 Cr for post-revenue startups via LFS’s proprietary 120-Day Fundraising Program, covering investor positioning, valuation, deal structuring, and closure support. With experience evaluating 2,500+ startups, he actively connects founders with a verified investor network of 500+ angels, VCs, and family offices. He also hosts the Levell Up Podcast and India’s first sports-based startup pitching league, Indian Startup Premier Leaguee.