After returning $3M to kill his first startup, Swiggy's Instamart builder bet on cricket

Ten X You is a cricket activewear brand selling cricket accessories, gear, footwear, apparel and equipment

That a technical cricket activewear and equipment brand — with Tendulkar attached — can become what Nike did for basketball, for India's largest sport

$3M raised for Convenio (Matrix Partners India and angels, January 2024) and returned to investors by June; Ten X You's own funding undisclosed

Gurumurthy spent three and a half years at Swiggy building its quick-commerce arm Instamart and was helming Swiggy Mall when he quit about a year before the launch, then built an offline-retail venture in stealth.

Convenio, reportedly its name, raised $3 million from Matrix Partners India and angels in January 2024, was pulled in March, and its capital went back to investors in June. In April he incorporated SRT10 Athleisure — MCA filings listed Sachin Tendulkar, Gurumurthy, Whiteboard Capital partner Anshu Prasher and ex-Swiggy Instamart VP Karan Arora as directors. Ten X You, founded in July, announced its launch on 6 November 2024.

Gurumurthy judged his funded offline-retail bet not worth continuing and returned the $3 million rather than force it forward.

Cricket is India's largest sport, and no brand owns its technical gear the way Nike owns basketball or Li Ning owns badminton.

Attaching Sachin Tendulkar as cofounder buys credibility with cricketers that an apparel newcomer cannot buy with ad spend.

Peak XV and Whiteboard backed the restart, signalling investors preferred the sports bet over the offline-retail one.

Returning capital early to kill a misfit bet is cheaper than pivoting it — the founder kept his track record and swung again within months.

As of 6 November 2024 the brand's website was not live and Inc42 was awaiting details from Gurumurthy on operations. The LinkedIn page carried both Gurumurthy and Tendulkar as CEO, and whether SRT10 Athleisure is the parent entity remained unclear.