The IIT Engineer Who Cracked India’s Beauty Market

Rahul Thayyalamkandy | 24 Jun 2025

In This Episode

What would make an IIT Bombay graduate ditch a high-paying finance job to start a beauty brand?

In this episode of Hard Truths by Vertex, I sit down with Gagandeep, co-founder of Pilgrim, to unpack his unconventional journey—from engineering and investment banking to building a ₹700 crore beauty empire. He shares the moment he secretly quit his job, the challenges of launching a brand no one knew, and how Pilgrim is making global beauty secrets affordable in India.

Tune in for a candid conversation on risk, reinvention, and what it really takes to build a successful consumer brand!

IN THIS EPISODE

[00:00] He quit his job… and didn’t tell his dad for two years?!

[01:00] The beauty industry is crowded—so how do you stand out?

[04:00] An IITian running a beauty brand? Even his relatives were shocked!

[06:00] When your first startup flops, do you go back to a job… or build a ₹700 crore company?

[09:30] The secret to giving customers what they want… before they even know it!

[10:30] This one unexpected insight led them to launch an entire new product line

[14:30] Brand campaigns sound cool, but do they actually work? Here’s how they test ROI

[16:00] From a digital-first brand to 5,000+ retail stores—what changed?

[17:30] How do you actually listen to customers? Most brands get this wrong!

[21:00] Scaling fast without losing the startup mindset—easier said than done!

[27:30] The one thing that turns first-time buyers into loyal customers

[28:00] What’s next for Pilgrim? How big can this get?

Gagandeep Makker

Gagandeep Makker is the Co-Founder at Pilgrim. He attended Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaganmakker/

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Rahul Thayyalamkandy

Director of Comms & Community, Vertex Ventures SEA & India

Rahul Thayyalamkandy joined the SEA/India team as the Director of Communication & Community in 2024 and is based in Singapore.

Before joining Vertex, Rahul served as a Product Manager at BLOCK71, an incubator and joint venture of NUS Enterprise and Singtel Innov8, where he developed scalable services for portfolio startups and designed mentorship programs. He also gained experience as a Summer Associate at Cocoon Capital, working with the Managing Partner on investment deals.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

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Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is a pioneer in investing in tech start-ups in this region and has helped to build a number of unicorns. In this podcast, we seek to share and uncover the Hard Truth - raw, unfiltered insights and venture capital knowledge from across Southeast Asia and India. Tune in to learn from leading founders, innovators, venture capitalists, and industry experts in the region and gain industry insights from those in the know.

For more information, please visit: https://www.vertexventures.sg
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