Rohan Kashyap, a social media agency professional from Ludhiana, founded Burger Bae in November 2019 after a streetwear post went viral overnight. His sister Ojasvee Kashyap, NIFT Kolkata graduate and former Anamika Khanna associate, joined in 2021. Influencer Janvi Sikaria, an angry customer who became his co-founder and partner, joined in 2023. Revenue grew 78x from ₹15 lakh in FY20 to ₹11.8 crore in FY24, three Sharks invested ₹2 crore on Shark Tank India Season 4, and the brand targets ₹100 crore revenue by 2026.
Ludhiana, a Viral Post, a Family Loan, and a Dream to Become the Narayana Murthy of Punjab
• Rohan Kashyap grew up in a modest family in Ludhiana, Punjab, working at a social media agency helping brands leverage Instagram to grow. Burger Bae was not originally planned as a fashion brand at all. It started as an extension of that social media agency work, until one casual post of a streetwear design went viral overnight in 2019 and changed everything.
• He quit his job and founded Burger Bae in November 2019, choosing a name that was deliberately unexpected. A brand that sounded like a burger joint but sold clothes created immediate curiosity, conversation, and community. The name became the brand's first piece of marketing.
• His sister Ojasvee Kashyap, a Fashion Design graduate from NIFT Kolkata who had worked with celebrated designer Anamika Khanna before taking a COVID sabbatical, joined as co-founder in 2021, bringing technical design expertise that Rohan's instinct-driven founding had lacked.
• The early journey carried significant personal risk. Rohan sold 33% equity to an early investor for just ₹1 lakh, a deal that went sideways when the investor failed to deliver on commitments. To buy back that stake and protect the brand he had built, Rohan borrowed ₹2 crore from his mother, a defining act of personal conviction that confirmed Burger Bae was a mission, not just a business.
Community as Designer, Instagram as Runway, and an Angry Customer Who Became Co-Founder
• The boldest product decision Burger Bae made was to remove the in-house designer entirely from the creative process and replace them with the community itself.
• "In earlier times, fashion studios and fashion magazines used to tell us what is trending and what we should wear. Today, our runway is our Instagram feed where by likes, comments and shares we decide what is trending," Janvi Sikaria explained during the Shark Tank pitch.
• Every Burger Bae product is manufactured based on direct social media insights from its community of 269,000-plus followers. The product mix is carefully structured: 80% essentials including T-shirts, bottoms, coord-sets, and hoodies, and 20% Instagram-worthy statement pieces like tops and dresses. Trends identified through real-time engagement data are converted into limited drops, creating scarcity and anticipation that builds loyalty organically.
• The story of how Janvi Sikaria joined is the most extraordinary founding story in India's D2C fashion space. In 2023, Janvi was a furious Burger Bae customer whose order never arrived. She spent two months attempting to reach the company before finally getting a call from Rohan himself. Instead of a standard apology, Rohan offered her lifetime free unreleased merchandise. That conversation became a friendship, the friendship became a romance, and the romance became a co-founding partnership. Janvi, already an influencer with a significant following, joined Burger Bae in 2023 as Co-Founder.
• The sustainability architecture is equally distinctive. The brand uses limited production runs to minimise waste, 50% less water during manufacturing, eco-friendly dyes, and premium vegan materials, positioning it as a conscious streetwear brand rather than a fast fashion participant.
Sharks Thought It Was a Burger Joint and Left With a Fashion Investment
• Burger Bae appeared on Shark Tank India Season 4. Rohan, Ojasvee, and Janvi entered seeking ₹1 crore for 2.5% equity at a ₹40 crore valuation. The Sharks' first reaction was confusion: "Is this a burger joint?"
• The founders flipped the script immediately, describing Burger Bae as "the toxic college girl you find irresistible." Namita Thapar stepped back citing financial stability concerns. Viraj Bahl felt it was too early. But Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal, and Kunal Bahl countered with ₹1 crore for 10% equity before revising to ₹2 crore for 20% equity at a ₹10 crore valuation, double the capital Burger Bae had asked for. Janvi was immediately sold on the deal. Rohan needed a moment to process. After some back and forth, they shook hands.
• Aman Gupta's memorable line, "Ludhiane ka Narayana Murthy banne ke liye 70 ghante kaam karo," became one of the episode's most quoted moments. Rohan responded that he was willing to work 100 hours a week if needed.
Scale and Real-World Impact
• Burger Bae's revenue journey is one of the most compelling in India's D2C fashion space: ₹15 lakh in FY20, ₹4.6 crore in FY23, ₹11.8 crore in FY24, projecting ₹16 crore in FY25, and targeting ₹100 crore by 2026, a growth of 78x in five years. The brand has served more than 250,000 customers and has a community of 269,000-plus Instagram followers. Total funding raised is $228,000 from Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal, and Kunal Bahl. Expansion plans include US and UK website launches, quick commerce integration, Delhi-NCR offline pop-up stores, accessories expansion, and creator-led sub-brands under the parent company. The brand is headquartered in Model Town, Ludhiana, Punjab.
The Most Innovative Design Teams Are the Ones That Are Not in the Building
• The sharpest lesson from Burger Bae's journey is this: the brands that give their community creative authority build products the market actually wants rather than products the brand thinks the market wants.
• Rohan removed the traditional designer from Burger Bae's process and replaced them with 269,000 people on Instagram. Every like, comment, and share became a data point. Every viral trend became a brief. Every community member became a stakeholder in what the brand produced.
• "We're quite popular on Instagram and have cultivated a robust community. More than the numbers, it's the strength of the community that we're truly proud of," Janvi says.
• He started with a viral post at a social media agency. He built a community. He turned an angry customer into his co-founder. He grew 78x in five years. And he is building the fashion brand that Ludhiana, and India, has always had the capacity to produce.
Sources: CEO Vine, YourStory , MoneyMint, TrueScoopNews , Business Today , Startup Story Media , India.com
