The Student Who Built a Streetwear Brand Before Graduation
Davonte' Walls launched Privilege Closet LLC at 20, blending street style with high fashion from his dorm at Savannah State University. Now a 2026 Black Ambition Fundable Founders Learning Lab selectee, he is building a brand that moves like confidence.
This week
The most important act of a founder this decade will not be building. It will be deciding what not to build. Restraint is the unwritten chapter of every great company — and the next four years will reward it more than any cycle in memory.
The feed

How Indian D2C Brands Make Money: Margins, Marketing and Repeat Purchases Margins, Marketing and Repeat Purchases
The unit economics behind India's fastest-growing direct-to-consumer brands — what the contribution margin actually looks like, why CAC is killing most of them, and how the profitable ones cracked repeat purchases.

Bootstrapping vs Venture Capital: Which Is Better for Your Startup? Bootstrapping vs Venture Capital
Most founders ask this question too early. The real question is what your business model demands — and which path gives you the best shot at building something that lasts.

How to Get Your First 10 Customers as a Startup First 10 Customers
The hardest sale is always the first one. Here is a practical playbook for Indian founders to find, convert, and keep their earliest customers — without a marketing budget.

How to Start a Business in India in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide Step-by-Step Guide
From validating your idea to registering on the MCA portal, funding your first year, and navigating compliance — the practical path for India's first-time founders.

Upwind Nabs $400M, Rejects Datadog Acquisition Offer A Bet on Independent Growth
Upwind, a cloud security startup, secured $400M in Series C funding at a $3.8B valuation, rejecting a Datadog acquisition to pursue independent growth. This offers key insights for founders.
Founders desk
Plate 01Cover · Issue 47Davonte' Walls
Marketing student at Savannah State University turned streetwear founder — building Privilege Closet LLC, a Georgia-based brand where street style meets high fashion and confidence is the whole point.
Plate 02Anurag Kulkarni
Founder and Managing Director of SA Digital Films Pvt. Ltd. — an electrical engineer turned music producer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur building a trusted B2B communication partner from Nagpur.
Plate 03Logan Sullivan
Logan Sullivan started Junk Punks at 17. Today it runs company-owned and franchise markets across Florida and Wisconsin.
Plate 04Anastasiia Shumilo
Anastasiia Shumilo is a Ukrainian-born technology founder who started over in Canada and built her career in technology from the ground up. She founded Shumi Technologies, an international B2B softwar
By desk
Read with the people who build the next decade.
Wednesdays at 7am Pacific. One letter, four minutes, and the five stories that actually mattered — chosen by the desk, not by an algorithm.
- ✓ The week's five most important reads, briefly
- ✓ One short interview, often unpublished elsewhere
- ✓ A memo from the editor — three minutes, one idea
- ✓ No ads, no roundups, no growth tactics



