Abhishek Ganguly played a significant role in the establishment of one of the largest success stories in the Indian sportswear industry over 17 years. When he joined Puma in 2005, he became the company's second employee in the country, as it did not yet have an Indian division, and the early team worked from a coffee shop in Koramangala, Bengaluru, partly thanks to free internet. Subsequently, Puma became one of the first fashion and sportswear brands whose revenue in India exceeded ₹1,500 crore, and later ₹2,000 crore. According to Ganguly, the company eventually surpassed Nike and Adidas in terms of scale in the country.
A notable aspect of this growth was the funding. According to Ganguly, by 2023, Puma India had invested only about $20 million in equity to build a business that generated approximately $400 million in revenue.
However, when Ganguly decided to found Agilitas Sports, he realized that nearly two decades of experience could be as much of an obstacle as an advantage. He told Amit Somani, Managing Partner at Prime Venture Partners, on the Prime Venture Partners Podcast: 'What brought Puma where it is today will not move Agilitas an inch forward.'
The concept of Agilitas arose partly from Ganguly's observations while working at a global sports company. At Puma's headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, city names such as Barcelona, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Melbourne, and Seoul were listed in meeting rooms. Ganguly recalls: 'Not New Delhi, nor Bangalore.'
Instead of viewing this as a complaint, Ganguly saw an opportunity. Despite the growth of the Indian market, what he calls 'local pride' was still missing in Indian global sportswear. Countries like the USA and Germany created their global sports brands, and China also built its own labels. Ganguly started asking a simple question: why not India?
This question ultimately became central to Agilitas. It emphasizes that they always aimed to be an 'Indian brand,' not just a 'brand for India.' Ganguly does not want Agilitas to compete by positioning Indian products as a cheaper alternative to international brands; his goal is to create products capable of competing with the best in the world on their own terms.
Creating this company requires understanding radical changes in the Indian consumer. Two decades ago, according to Ganguly, buyers were reluctant to spend ₹5,000–₹6,000 on a pair of shoes. Today, the sneaker culture has reached such a level that he knows people in India who own up to 400 pairs.
Retail has transformed along with the consumer: India has moved from limited offline trade to monobrand stores, e-commerce, and now quick commerce. Consumers who previously struggled to access international brands can now choose from a vast array of goods.
This presents a completely different challenge for a company like Agilitas. Ganguly argues that 'consumers don't need more products, they don't need more brands, they don't need more retail.' Availability itself is no longer a differentiator, nor is simply making another good pair of shoes. Brands increasingly have to find a reason for consumers to pay attention to them.
Ganguly uses a social media concept to explain his approach: Instagram taught brands that content must first be 'scroll-stopping,' and then good enough to be shared. Thus, Agilitas's task is not just to create products, but to capture attention in a market where consumers already have numerous options.
Perhaps Ganguly's most non-obvious belief about building Agilitas is that his past success does not necessarily give the company an advantage; rather, it can be an impediment. He believes that successful operators can become 'hostages to their own pattern recognition.' What worked before starts to look like a template for what should work again. Confidence can turn into dogma, and dogma reduces the willingness to learn.
Ganguly constantly reminds himself of the phrase: 'Disruptors do not disrupt again.' This lesson is particularly relevant given the speed of consumption change in India. He notes that the first two and a half to three years of building Agilitas have taught him lessons contrary to the conclusions drawn from his previous 20 years in the industry. He asserts that consumers are evolving too quickly for history to provide answers.
One of the most visible manifestations of Agilitas's strategy is its partnership with Virat Kohli. This relationship began in 2016 when Kohli was the captain of the Indian cricket team after a stellar IPL season. At that time, Ganguly, working at Puma, proposed something different from the traditional celebrity sponsorship model. Instead of simply paying Kohli a fixed ambassador fee, he proposed creating a brand owned by Kohli that could collaborate with Puma based on royalties. This partnership eventually led to the creation of One8.
Years later, as Ganguly prepared to leave Puma, he spoke about his desire to create an Indian sportswear company among the first. The conversation returned to the same question behind Agilitas: 'Why not us?' Ganguly recalls them asking: 'Why can't an Indian brand reach the Olympic podium?' and 'Why can't an Indian brand ultimately become the preferred choice of athletes in other parts of the world?'
Kohli subsequently became one of Agilitas's early proponents. Ganguly says the cricketer declined a large financial investment from Puma, invested in Agilitas, and merged his brand with the company. His role, Ganguly insists, goes far beyond merely using his name and image for the brand. When the company developed the first baseball shoe for cricket before the IPL, Kohli personally tested the product and rejected 17 prototypes. Ganguly describes Kohli as someone who engaged with the minutiae of the product, testing it 'with the energy of a schoolboy.'
This is what Agilitas wants to represent. Kohli is not just a celebrity attracting attention to a finished product; he is part of its creation process. The long-term goal is much broader than any single person associated with the company. Ganguly recalls asking Kohli how he envisioned the success of One8 in 20 years. Kohli's answer surprised him: success will come when 'no one cares who built it, who started it.'
For Ganguly, this reflects the 'deep thinking of a builder.' It also aligns with his own decision to start over. Ganguly grew up in India, where success was often associated with certainty and stability, and people were encouraged to find a path and 'settle down.' Over time, he discovered that he enjoyed moments more when moving away from what was already built and trying to create something new. He states: 'I want to remain unfinished as long as I can.'
Thus, for someone who has already spent two decades developing the Indian sports industry, Agilitas is less about replicating the past path and more about attempting a completely different one. Ganguly's advice to entrepreneurs reflects this distinction: 'Always learn from others. The gates of the world are through others, but never try to copy others.'