Bengaluru · Est. 2025

We build consumer apps for Bharat.

Mehphil is an execution-led venture builder. We enter proven categories, ship sharper products, and compound on distribution and operations.

Signals

The Bharat consumer economy is proven. The window is open. Public evidence.

₹1,176 Cr
Astrotalk FY25 revenue, nearly doubled from ₹651 Cr in FY24. Category demand is public.
Medial
21.6 B
UPI transactions in December 2025 alone. ₹27.97 lakh crore in monthly value. Micro-payments are native.
Elets BFSI
951 M
Wireless internet subscribers in India. Bharat drives over 60% of new e-commerce demand.
IBEF
$65 B
India e-retail GMV in 2025. Projected to reach $170–180B by 2030 at over 20% CAGR.
Bain & Co.
Thesis

Product-market fit is venture's most expensive risk. We route around it.

India's largest consumer categories have already been proven. Companionship, spiritual guidance, real-time audio, regional commerce. Category leaders have spent hundreds of crores teaching customers what to want, mapping unit economics, and validating demand.

We do not need to repeat that work. We study those markets closely, identify the structural gaps in incumbent execution, and build a sharper version. The best consumer builders in India did not invent their categories. They out-executed them.

01
Identify
Categories with proven demand, expanding TAM, and legible operator gaps. We move only when evidence is unambiguous.
02
Build
Ship product with velocity. Reuse the operational spine across ventures. Product decisions in weeks, not quarters.
03
Scale
Distribution as moat. Ruthless focus on the two or three metrics that actually move the venture. Honest reporting.
Portfolio

One venture in market. More in build.

Each Mehphil venture targets a Bharat consumer category with proven demand and a clear operator opportunity.

Venture 01 Launching

Sakhi & Me

Companionship · Audio & video

A paid audio and video companionship platform for Bharat. Verified female hosts, coin-based per-minute pricing, ten Indian languages at launch. Built with trust and moderation as first principles.

Category
Bharat consumer companionship
Languages
Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia
Model
Coin-based per-minute
Status
Launching 2026
Founders

Built by operators.

Cofounder
Shams Sheikh
Contact

Investors, operators, and future teammates.

We build in the categories we understand as customers ourselves. If you are building for Bharat, or investing in operators who are, we would like to hear from you.