ET Startup Awards 2026 | Bootstrap Champ: Habuild stretches profits without bending to VC cash

Digital wellness platform Habuild won the Bootstrap Champ title at the ET Startup Awards for achieving sustainable growth without excessive marketing spending.

Founded in 2020 by Saurabh and Trishala Bothra and Anshul Agrawal, the platform aimed to make yoga more accessible and has become one of India’s largest digital wellness platforms, growing without external funding.

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“I am very impressed by Habuild’s profit margins and the fact that they’ve been able to scale the business without online spending,” said Paras Chopra, founder of Wingify and Lossfunk. Wingify had won the Bootstrap Champ award in 2017.

A juror noted that Habuild has been able to retain its users by helping them maintain a rhythm and build a habit. “The company has a large potential addressable market,” said the juror, who also uses Habuild.

Habuild wants users to make it a habit to prioritise health. It has engineered a routine around daily live attendance. The Nagpur-based company uses WhatsApp and YouTube for content distribution.

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It operates on a freemium model. The service is free for the first 14 to 21 days, after which the user pays an annual subscription fee of Rs 3,999.

“This award is a validation for the entire Habuild team for putting in so much hard work which has helped us to reach here,” CEO Saurabh Bothra told ET.

Habuild has built a large community through its YouTube channel. Most of its new user acquisition is by word-of-mouth.

“Our focus is to help people build consistent healthy habits…,” Bothra said, adding that the company is also expanding its AI efforts to build tools for users.

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