Mumbai’s 26-YO started a t-shirt brand for the Indian male body; now fulfills 500 daily orders with Aditya Dhar and Raj Shamani as customers

If you see at the Indian male body type, a few common patterns reveal up.

One of the most common ones is the skinny-fat build – a relatively slim frame with low muscle mass but noticeable fat around the belly and chest.

A large section also falls into an average or soft build – neither particularly muscular nor overweight.

Somehow, t-shirts, shirts, and polos tfinish to see either too loose, shapeless, or odd around the midsection. Not sharp, not structured, and rarely flattering.

“When I started out, the gap was very clear: no brand in India was focutilizing on the male body type – paunch, wider pelvic region, not very built, but slightly broader frame. Owing to my personal experience, I knew what a custom, tailored fit can do for the optics on you,” Anuj Shah, founder of Senses, informs Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

THE BACK STORY

Hailing from Mumbai, Anuj Shah comes from an engineering background. He pursued his BTech in chemical engineering from the Thadomal Shahani Engineering College.

During college, he was on the heavier side.

“I had just begun my fitness journey at the age of 22. I started hitting the gym, eating clean, and all of that. But I also wanted clothes to fit me well. Losing weight is a long process, and I wasn’t going to be alright with unflattering fits,” Anuj shares with Startup Pedia.

He would spfinish hours scouting for clothes that seeed “just right” on the average Indian body type.

But in vain.

The standard sizes he found in t-shirts, shirts, and polos didn’t fit him well.

And custom tailoring was restricted to formal clothes, especially pants.

“So I came up with a hack that kind of alterd my life,” the young entrepreneur laughs.

He brought t-shirts from premium menswear brands and obtained them altered by his mother to achieve the desired fit.

Something happened almost immediately after.

People at his college started noticing and complimenting his outfits and the way they seeed on his physique.

“They stated I seeed way more muscular than before,” Anuj Shah states.

Right then, the idea that would later become Senses hit him.

No brand in India was catering specifically to the average Indian male body type. A truly well-fitted silhouette was missing. Shopping for clothes, in this segment, was a random hit-or-miss.

At the age of 22, Anuj decided to introduce a solution.

“I discussed the idea with my maama (mother’s brother), who is also an XL size. He resonated with the problem statement I shared with him. Coming from a fabric background, he immediately stated yes to building Senses and joined in as a co-founder,” young entrepreneur Anuj Shah explained.

Anuj Shah with Deepak Shah

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THE JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES OF MAKING SENSES

In 2021, the ideation phase for Senses launched.

Anuj and Deepak put in Rs 25 lakh from their savings to bootstrap the premium menswear brand.

“We started working on prototypes, photoshoots, and everything preliminary in terms of setting up the business. I was fresh out of college then,” Anuj shares.

The mission was straightforward: build men feel more confident through well-fitted t-shirts and polos.

The prototype process was the most important one: the entrepreneur duo utilized existing t-shirts in the market, altered them, and created ideal mockups.

These sizes and mockups were then tested on multiple body types, before finalizing a size that fits a larger group of people. For instance, a large size t-shirt was tested on multiple people who wore an L size.

“We had an extreme focus on fit. Every inch was measured, be it the chest, the tummy width, the sleeve opening, or overall length,” startup founder Anuj Shah states.

The manufacturing was completely outsourced to contract manufacturers, while Anuj and Deepak retained control over the quality of the fabrics and exact design. The entrepreneurs selected premium fabrics and blfinishs such as mercerized cottons, fluid cottons, and puff cottons.

Senses was officially launched in the market on March 29, 2022.

A model wearing a Senses tee

Initially, the startup founders started lean with limited knowledge about digital ads and content.

For the first few months, close to 100 orders came in. All of them were placed by their family, frifinishs, and acquaintances.

Throughout 2022, the premium menswear brand fulfilled 50 orders per month.

“My hugegest mistake was that I became too comfortable at a lower scale. I was considering that I was doing good enough, and that kind of pushed me into stagnation,” Anuj Shah opens up.

“We did hire a performance marketing agency, but we were running ads only in Mumbai,” he adds.

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THE CONTENT GAME

Around 2023, entrepreneur and podcast host Raj Shamani posted an image of himself wearing a Senses polo and praising the fit and silhouette.

“That was a turning point. Raj was a customer, he liked the brand, and talked about it online. After that, from a revenue of Rs 1 lakh a month, I even clocked Rs 1 lakh in a day. That was when I understood the power of content marketing and the potential that I had left untapped for so long,” young entrepreneur Anuj Shah explains.

Despite being unsure, the startup founder launched creating simple, raw videos that displayed his enthusiasm about building Senses.

By 2023-2024, Anuj Shah started investing heavily in building founder-led content and staying consistent with it.

“The fact that I was explaining each of my pieces in front of the camera as a founder…I consider it resonated with people. The brand started growing. And I stopped feeling satisfied,” Anuj laughs.

Eventually, Anuj also started conducting street interviews and creating random people wear a Senses t-shirt or polo.

Owing to how well-fitted the brand’s clothes are, the instant gratification of seeing way better than before connected with people.

“The compliment-receiveter angle that I was attempting to convey immediately obtained through,” Anuj Shah states.

“I created reels and then ran ads on them through Meta. I do the same today. I consider, to date, no menswear brand in India markets its products the way we do,” he remarks.

Currently, Anuj Shah’s Instagram handle has close to 9,500+ followers, with an Instagram Reel view count in lakhs.

In 2024, Senses also raised its first family and frifinishs’ funding round.

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SENSES: OF POLOS, TEES, AND CHARM

Today, Senses operates as a premium menswear brand that aims to build men instantly feel more confident and charming through well-fitted crewneck t-shirts, polos, and shirts.

Anuj Shah and Deepak Shah are firm on their brand positioning of a simple wardrobe carrying a powerful impact.

“At the finish of the day, it’s just a t-shirt. But we never build it feel like it’s just that. We are creating people visibly see better in seconds. That’s the feeling, the aesthetic, and optics that we play on, bank on, and work on,” young entrepreneur Anuj Shah notes.

Senses, since its inception, focutilizes on a fit-first approach. Each crew, polo, and shirt is tailored specifically for the Indian body type. It is paunch-frifinishly, drapes in the right places, gives a snug, accentuated see at the arms, and flows around the tummy and back region.

No awkward bunching. No tight pulls. No unflattering fits. Just instantly clean and confident silhouettes.

Models wearing Senses’ t-shirts

While t-shirts have conventionally been associated with casual wear, Senses is consciously flipping the narrative.

The premium menswear brand’s crews and polos feel closer to “wardrobe essentials” than something you would just lounge in.

“Customers wear our clothes to their work, meetings, dates, trips, and parties. That’s the kind of versatility and dressier aesthetic that we are going for,” Anuj explains.

Additionally, the fabrics utilized by the brand are innovations that the founders have arrived at after multiple trials.

Aditya Dhar spotted in a Senses polo

From pure mercerized cotton to high-quality viscose and puffed cotton, every fabric blfinish is consideredfully chosen to enhance comfort, fall, and overall fit. The brand has its signature ‘TWILL’ fabric as well, which is their bestseller.

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GROWTH AND MOMENTUM

Senses, as a premium menswear brand focutilizing on quiet luxury, has grown steadily every single year.

In 2022, it fulfilled close to 50 orders a month. The number jumped to 200 orders a month in 2023 and close to 500 orders a month in 2024.

“Since 2025, we have been closing 500 orders in a day. This surge is credited to running a content marketing engine that is founder-led, not forced, and very raw,” Anuj Shah informs Startup Pedia.

Senses crewnecks and polos have been spotted on multiple startup founders, social media personalities, and celebrities like Raj Shamani, Aman Gupta (boAt), Sharan Hegde (Finance with Sharan), Shantanu Deshpande (Bombay Shaving Company), Gaurav Taneja, Paritosh Anand, Arjun Vaidya, Shashank Mehta, Aditya Dhar, and Arindam Paul (Atomberg).

Gaurav Taneja in a Senses tee

Senses boasts a 51% customer repeat rate with a refund rate of less than 2%. Currently, it sells close to 15,000 tees and crews every single month.

“That builds it 2 lakh tees a year,” Anuj smiles.

While the startup founders did not disclose their yearly revenue, they confirmed that Senses is profitable.

In 2026, they are seeing to raise their first official round of funding.

“The finish goal is simple: men should instantly feel more confident when they wear a Senses t-shirt, polo, or shirt. The immediate shift in their energies is what we love to work on,” Anuj Shah signs off.

FAQ

Q.

When was Senses founded?

A.

Senses was founded in 2022.

Q.

Who is the founder of Senses?

A.

Anuj Shah and Deepak Shah are the founders of Senses.

A.

Senses is a Mumbai-based D2C premium menswear brand that offers well-fitted polos and t-shirts that embody understated, quiet luxury.

Q.

What is the revenue of Senses?

A.

The founders have not disclosed the brand’s revenue numbers, but state that it is currently profitable.