New Delhi : Tetr College of Business, building on the outcomes of its inaugural cohort, has brought over 200 student founders from more than 50 countries to India to build and launch over 50 Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands. As part of Tetr’s second undergraduate cohort, the students are currently operating on the ground and building businesses across categories such as apparel, F&B, jewellery, accessories, and beauty. Over a four month period, the teams will manage the full business lifecycle, from supplier onboarding and product development to customer acquisition and performance tracking, within one of the world’s most competitive consumer markets.
“India was deliberately chosen as a build market for its scale and the complexity of its consumer ecosystem. Operating in India exposes student founders to fast feedback cycles where regional preferences, pricing sensitivity, and trust play a critical role in shaping brand strategy. India pushes founders to move quickly from ideas to execution,” said Pratham Mittal, Founder of Tetr College of Business and Masters’ Union. “Working in this environment helps students develop practical judgment early by engaging directly with real customers and real constraints.”
The program is supported by close mentorship from leading Indian D2C founders and investors. Industry operators such as Arjun Vaidya, Founder, Dr. Vaidya’s and Venture Lead at Verlinvest, Anshita Mehrotra, Founder, FixMyCurls, and Rahul Jain, CEO, Epigamia are guiding students on market entry, fundraising, and go-to-market execution. “India offers a depth of consumer insight that is difficult to replicate elsewhere,” said Arjun Vaidya. “Building brands here gives young founders a grounded understanding of how trust, pricing, and distribution shape long-term scale.” Students also participate in immersions with established Indian startups, where they test their ideas alongside operators who have successfully built and scaled businesses in the region.
Among the ventures currently taking shape in India are 1000 AQI, a sustainability-led streetwear label that converts real-time air quality data into limited-drop graphic T-shirts, with a portion of proceeds directed toward air pollution interventions; Jhatak, a small-batch Indonesian sambal brand introducing bold, traditional Southeast Asian flavours to Indian kitchens; Tiora, a demi-fine jewellery label offering 18-carat gold-plated, waterproof and tarnish-resistant pieces designed for everyday wear; Bombaloca, a low-sugar cocktail and mocktail bomb brand created to deliver bar-style beverage experiences at home; and Too Much, a lip oil range focused on hydrating, high-gloss formulas with subtle tint for daily use. These brands are being developed through active supplier partnerships, product sampling cycles, pricing validation, and early customer acquisition experiments, with teams closely monitoring sales velocity, repeat purchase behaviour, and unit economics as they refine positioning for the Indian market.
The India term follows the cohort’s first semester in Dubai, where students focused on dropshipping and cross-border digital commerce. During this phase, the cohort launched 37 ventures, generating a combined revenue of AED 120,000+.
This marks the second cohort to come to India as part of Tetr’s undergraduate programme, following the institution’s founding in 2024. The B-school’s inaugural 110-student cohort, comprising founders from over 45 countries, went on to launch 61 ventures across fintech, consumer products, and sustainability, collectively generating more than USD 300,000 in revenue. Among these ventures was ServeClub, India’s first community-driven pickleball business, created by a global founding team from Spain, the USA, India, Germany, and Mexico. The venture introduced over 1,000 new players to the sport in India and secured seed funding from the founders of RareRabbit and The Moms Co. In addition, the cohort secured 110 internships across 14 countries, including roles at Sheng Ye Capital, Noon, National Geographic, eBay, and DIFC, collectively earning over USD 100,000 in stipends.
Tetr recently raised USD 18 million from global investors Owl Ventures and Bertelsmann India Investments (BII). The institution follows a learning-by-doing model and maintains a 2.6% acceptance rate, with students often choosing Tetr over offers from universities such as Carnegie Mellon, MIT, and King’s College London. With faculty that includes CXOs from NASA and SoftBank alongside professors from Harvard and Stanford, Tetr is rethinking undergraduate education by enabling students to build global businesses before graduation.
