Devansh Jain Nawal
Co-founder, Culture Circle
Devansh Jain Nawal is a 26-year-old entrepreneur who has disrupted India's luxury fashion market through innovation and strategic vision. An IIM Ahmedabad graduate (Class of 2024) who scored 99.96 percentile in CAT, Devansh also holds an engineering degree from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), Delhi. Before entrepreneurship, he gained valuable experience at prestigious organizations including Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, building expertise in finance and technology that would later prove instrumental in his ventures.
In 2023, Devansh co-founded Culture Circle with childhood friend Ackshay Jain, creating Asia's leading luxury and hype fashion platform. Born from their shared frustration with India's counterfeit-plagued luxury sneaker and streetwear market, where 34% of Jordans sold were fake, Culture Circle addresses critical issues of authenticity, pricing transparency, and accessibility. The platform features a proprietary AI-driven authentication system called SourceX, employing a rigorous 24-picture review process combining digital analysis and manual verification to guarantee 100% authentic products.
Culture Circle's meteoric rise has been extraordinary. Within 11 months of launch, the platform achieved over one million monthly users, built a community of 190,000+ social media followers, and aggregated 2.5 million active listings from 240+ global websites across brands like Air Jordans, Yeezys, and Louis Vuitton. The company's appearance on Shark Tank India Season 4 became legendary, receiving the show's highest-ever offer of ₹8 crore, though strategically accepting ₹3 crore for 3% equity from Ritesh Agarwal (OYO) and Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal) at a ₹100 crore valuation.
Recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, Devansh has expanded Culture Circle's footprint with flagship stores in Delhi and Hyderabad, with international beta programs launched in UAE, Qatar, Singapore, UK, and Thailand. His journey exemplifies how addressing genuine market problems with technology-driven solutions can create category-defining businesses that resonate with Gen Z consumers.
