For little under three years, mattress firm Wakefit's founders didn't find a backer. Then suddenly...
Ankit Garg (left) and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda co-founded Wake fit. Image: Nishant Ratnakar for Forbes India
Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda had a bunch of uncanny similarities. Both had a history of failed startups; both came from middle class families; in 2015, both landed up working at the same startup after their failed ventures; and both had returned the money raised from angels after folding up. But they both also held loads of grit. In 2016, when both decided to take a stab at entrepreneurship again, there was a lot of cynicism around their move. Garg had failed once in his foam-based startup, and Ramalingegowda had shuttered two ventures. Secondly, the decision to sell mattress online had stumped everybody. While tech startups were the talk of the town, the duo was going against the grain in the industry.