Rise, Grind, Repeat: The Secret Habits of India’s Most Successful Founders in 2025

No, It’s Not Meditation. These Entrepreneurs Are Playing a Very Different Game

Forget the “wake up at 5 AM, drink green tea, do yoga” startup clichés. The real unicorn chasers of 2025 are operating on a completely different frequency—and no, it’s not Clubhouse.

From boAt’s Aman Gupta turning workouts into brainstorm sessions to Paper Boat’s Neeraj Kakkar reading customer emails at midnight, the habits of India’s top founders are as unique as their origin stories.

So, what really separates the ₹1,000-crore mindsets from the mere mortals? Here’s what we’ve uncovered after scrolling through interviews, digging into diaries, and yes, stalking a few LinkedIn posts.

💼 1. Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics): Morning Miles & Mental Maps

Habit: Runs 10K every morning before any meeting
Why it works: Clears her head, boosts endorphins, and gives her time to mentally prep her team huddles

Vineeta swears by marathon-level discipline. “If I can run 21km before breakfast, I can handle a bad sales day,” she told The Times of India. And yes, she often finishes her run before your alarm goes off.

🎧 2. Aman Gupta (boAt): Podcasts + Protein = Product Ideas

Habit: Listens to 1 podcast a day—anywhere, anytime
Secret Sauce: Blends global startup trends into desi innovations

Aman told CNBC TV18 he often listens to Joe Rogan, Masters of Scale, or Akash Banerjee—yes, even when doing bench presses. “Ideas can come when you least expect. Keep your ears open. Literally.”

🧃 3. Neeraj Kakkar (Paper Boat): The Midnight Customer Whisperer

Habit: Personally reads 100+ customer emails a week
Why it matters: Real-time product insights, straight from the source

You think founders don’t read feedback? Neeraj does—at night, from his tablet, with chai. When a college student wrote, “I wish Paper Boat made aam panna in a pouch for exams,” he launched it 60 days later.

🥽 4. Ghanshyam Rawat (Lahori Zeera): Taste Testing Every New Batch Himself

Habit: No drink goes out unless he approves the flavor himself
Bonus: He tastes with the factory team, not in a corner office

A humble move for a man whose brand is now in over 18 countries. “I’m a flavor guy first, CEO later,” he told The Hindu Business Line. His palate is reportedly insured—yes, really.

💡 The 2025 Founder’s Routine Looks Like This:

🧠 Other Weirdly Genius Habits We Discovered

• Ritesh Agarwal (OYO): Uses a “Day in the Life of a Customer” simulator weekly
• Bhavish Aggarwal (Ola): Keeps 2 mobile phones—1 for customers, 1 for code
• Falguni Nayar (Nykaa): Never opens her laptop without reviewing customer reviews
• Richa Kar (Zivame): Journals customer conversations from her DMs

🔍 Why These Habits Actually Work

🧬 Neuroscience Behind It: Repetition + emotional engagement = peak founder performance
🔧 Systems Over Willpower: They don’t rely on motivation, they engineer their days
🎯 Focus on Customers > Competition: They wake up for buyers, not boardrooms

📰 They’ve Been in the Headlines Too

• “The Founders Who Meditate in Their Warehouses” – Mint Lounge
• “Why India’s Top CEOs Are Addicted to DMs” – Economic Times
• “The Secret Daily Rituals of the Desi Unicorn Club” – Forbes India

🏆 Awards Meet Daily Discipline

These habits didn’t just land them LinkedIn claps—they delivered actual results:

• Sugar crossed ₹500 crore in revenue in 2025
• boAt entered US retail markets with a ₹1,800 crore valuation
• Paper Boat won the CII FMCG Brand Innovation Award
• Lahori Zeera became India’s fastest-growing carbonated drink brand

You Don’t Need a Billion—Just a Routine

Most of these founders started with broken apps, failed pitches, and small kitchens. What kept them going wasn’t luck. It was habits—obsessive, personal, repeatable rituals that protected their purpose.

So, the next time you plan to build something big, don’t wait for Monday. Start with a 5-minute habit today. That’s how billion-rupee empires begin.