Why Sachin Tendulkar is betting on sportswear built for Indian feet
Ten X You was founded to serve everyday athletes, not professionals. The Bengaluru startup is building shoes for Indian foot shapes and taking aim at a growing sportswear market.
Most Indians have spent years squeezing their feet into shoe sizes designed somewhere else.
Sports shoes sold in India largely follow European and American sizing systems, even though studies have shown that Indian feet tend to be proportionately wider. The result is often discomfort, poor fit and, in some cases, injury.
For Bengaluru-based sportswear startup Ten X You, that gap became a business opportunity.
Founded in 2024 by former Swiggy colleagues Karthik Gurumurthy and Karan Arora, the D2C brand is building sports footwear and apparel with a focus on Indian consumers. The company counts cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar among its co-founders, and says its broader goal is to encourage more Indians to participate in sport rather than be spectators.
“As a child, I enjoyed sports thoroughly, playing in all kinds of weather, through sun and rain. I felt a simple joy every time I stepped out on the field to represent India and that feeling stays with me to this day,” Tendulkar says.
“My vision is to see India move from a sport-loving nation to a sport-playing one. With Ten X You, the same attention to detail I demanded from my bat and kit has been poured into every athleisure product made by us.”
The startup operates from Bengaluru with Gurumurthy as CEO and Arora as COO.
Building for the everyday athlete
The idea for Ten X You emerged while Gurumurthy was still working at Swiggy. An avid sports enthusiast, he had long wanted to build a business in the sector. But he believed much of the sportswear market focused on professional athletes while overlooking the larger base of recreational players.
“Many sportswear brands typically focus on offering for professionals,” he says.
“Look at cricket. There's so much stress on spike cricket shoes but 99% of India's cricket facilities don't even allow you to wear spikes. We were very clear that we wanted to build a brand for novices and dilettantes.”
The founders were also looking for someone who could bring credibility and insight into Indian sport. They found that in Tendulkar, who joined as co-founder and Chief Inspiration Officer.
The company sees itself as serving a broad group of consumers, from weekend cricketers and runners to people who simply want comfortable sports footwear for everyday activity.
Designing shoes for Indian feet
One of the earliest decisions the company made was to focus on fit. A 2024 study found that Indian feet are generally wider relative to their length than their European and American counterparts. Men were found to have an average width-to-length ratio of 65%, while the figure for women was around 60%.
According to Gurumurthy, most footwear brands still rely on global sizing standards that do not always reflect these differences.
Recognising that gap, Ten X You set out to develop shoes specifically for Indian consumers.
“It took about nine months to get the product right,” he says.
“We worked with designers from Poland and Germany, and with factories across Vietnam. Sachin obsessed over perfecting them and after about five iterations, we got what we were looking for."
The company drew inspiration from international brands such as ASICS, which have introduced wider-fit options in some markets.
Today, Ten X You's portfolio includes cricket shoes, running shoes, walking shoes and recovery trainers aimed at casual runners covering shorter distances.
The products are sold primarily through the company's own website, although they are also available on marketplaces such as Myntra.
Growing through grassroots sport
While Tendulkar's presence brings visibility, Ten X You says its focus remains firmly on amateur participation.
That approach also shapes the events and partnerships it pursues.
“We consciously avoid hardcore events like ultra marathons,” Gurumurthy says.
“Instead, we focus on more democratised runs and tournaments where participation is broad and accessible. We partnered with tournaments like the Indian Street Premier League and work extensively at the Ranji Trophy level.”
The company is also a sponsor of the Bengaluru 10K and regularly participates in major running events across the country.
Over the past six months, Ten X You has had a presence at events such as the TCS World 10K and the Cognizant run in Delhi. Rather than operating independently, the startup works with event organisers such as Procam and NEB to reach participants directly.
According to Gurumurthy, these partnerships have become an important customer acquisition channel.
“We have close to 50,000 B2C customers so far. If we include B2B and clients that we acquired through events, the number is close to 100,000. Of our B2C clientele, we maintain a retention rate of about 25%.”
Looking beyond India
The startup is entering a market that is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade. According to a recent Google-Deloitte report, India's sports ecosystem could reach $130 billion by 2030. Sports goods and apparel alone are projected to touch $58 billion during the same period.
Gurumurthy believes the market is still at an early stage, with room for specialised brands across categories such as running, gym wear and football.
The founders initially invested around $3.5 million into the business. More recently, Ten X You raised $3.41 million in a seed funding round led by Peak XV’s Surge and Whiteboard Capital.
The next phase of growth will include offline retail and international expansion.
“Over the next six months, we're aiming to hit around Rs 100 crore in ARR,” Gurumurthy says.
“A big part of our plan is to move into offline retail with an experience store in the next six months, while doubling down on international demand. We already serve the US and UK, and we're seeing strong interest from the Middle East and parts of South Asia.”