Ex-Investment Banker Builds a $350K/Year Online Plant Store in India

Who built it, and what they built

Udit, a 30-year-old founder from Mumbai, runs Root Bridges, an ecommerce shop that ships indoor and exotic plants to customers across India. The catalog focuses on varieties that are uncommon, simple to care for, and able to thrive without much direct sun.

Buyers range from people purchasing their first plant to experienced collectors, all looking for something green to brighten their homes.

Where the idea came from

Before starting the company, Udit studied economics, earning a CFA charter and a Master's degree at Boston University, then spent three years working in investment banking. Wanting a different path, he looked at India's just-emerging ecommerce wave and paired it with a personal passion for nature and greenery.

He saw that rapid urbanization had left most city dwellers with little access to green space, and decided his mission was to bring plants into everyday urban life. With no experience in either ecommerce or horticulture, the early learning came from running pop-up stalls around the city and listening to what shoppers actually wanted.

How they built the first version

Shipping live plants in India is hard because the country lacks cold-chain logistics suited to fragile, perishable goods. Root Bridges partnered with growers on lightweight, moisture-holding potting mixes and sent out only the strongest saplings so orders could survive up to a week on the road.