From a ₹7,500 salary to leading Thriftizer Solutions, Praveen Kumar V helps D2C brands scale with Shopify, strategy, and a trust-first digital approach.
Praveen Kumar
Some companies launch with a glossy pitch or a market opportunity in mind. For Praveen Kumar V, Founder & CEO, Thriftizer Solutions LLP, the journey began in a small room, an old government-allotted laptop, and an uncomfortable realization: Indian small businesses had so much to gain from the digital revolution-and far too little help turning that potential into reality.
From Benchwarmer to Bootstrapper
Back in 2013, Praveen was just starting out as a junior software developer, earning ₹7,500 a month. “Days were just code, copy, paste-nothing more. I knew there was more to learn, more to build,” he recalls. As Facebook and digital commerce took off, so did his curiosity: what if, instead of doing only what was assigned, he could play a bigger role in bringing traditional businesses online?
Taking a leap of faith, he began freelancing-sometimes working for what the client could pay, sometimes for nothing, just to build a profile and earn trust where none existed. “The biggest barrier for a newcomer? Not skill-credibility. No reviews, no projects, no trust,” he says. “So my early days were about showing who I am, what I can do. The rest would follow.”
More Grit Than Glamour
For nearly two years, it was just Praveen-a one-man company, coding through the night on a battered laptop, trying to understand, build, and learn. “There were months where I barely made anything. But I was learning to say yes, to build, and to solve.”
The breakthrough? A new direction with Shopify, then a fledgling platform just making waves in India. “We were early, we dove deep, and we got noticed.” That bet paid off when Firebolt-a fast-growing wearable brand-handed Thriftizer its most ambitious project yet: architecting its full Shopify ecosystem. “They took a leap with us. We delivered-and that trust changed everything.”
From there, referrals snowballed. “We never cold-called, never ran lead gen campaigns, even today,” Praveen says. “Clients who achieved results with us told others, and our work became our biggest calling card.”
Scaling D2C, One Client at a Time
Much like companies that grow one step at a time, Thriftizer’s journey has been about delivering real value-not just scaling for the sake of it.
“What excites us most isn’t just big names,” Praveen explains, “but tenacity: helping brands like Instore in Chennai, which went from a modest conversion rate to 25–30x ROI in two years after we brought Shopify, Google Ads, and meta ads together. That’s a jump from thousands to crores in monthly sales.”
He shares similar wins with category leaders-Indian Ethnic Co. in Mumbai, Children’s Lab for kids’ apparel-where Thriftizer played the silent partner, focusing on invisible levers like site speed, mobile performance, and conversion-led design. “Often, tech isn’t the issue. It’s about empathy, attention, and fixing what’s overlooked.”
A Service Model, Not Just a Tech Stack
What makes Thriftizer stand apart isn’t just the platforms they master-it’s the patience and process-driven approach. No rush to ads; first comes market research, then branding, then content, then organic growth. Only after months of groundwork does paid media begin-and always with razor-sharp analysis and ongoing iteration.
“Our clients stay for years because they’re not left behind once a campaign ends,” he says. “We support them through slow months, help them scale in good ones, and most importantly-treat every rupee as our own.”
Culture Eats Code for Breakfast
Today, Thriftizer is a 35-member team-and counts on doubling in size soon, with offices spanning India, USA, and soon, UAE. What’s held steady through growth? “The feeling that every client matters, every project teaches,” Praveen says. “We celebrate together, we slog through sprints together-our people-first value runs throughout.”
The Future: Staying Lean, Learning Fast
Expansion is on the cards-but not at the cost of trust. “In five years, I want Thriftizer to be known not as the biggest, but as the most reliable, most honest digital partner for D2C brands,” Praveen says. New markets are opening, new technologies present both opportunity and distraction.
What about AI and the hype around automation? “We use AI judiciously, but our edge is human analysis, common sense, and empathy. Brands shouldn’t chase tools-they should chase understanding their own customers, market, and strengths.”
Growing Slow, Growing Right
Praveen’s is not a story of overnight pivots or trend-chasing. It’s persistence, earned trust, and quiet revolution: from a ₹7,500 salary to a multi-crore impact-powered by humility, customer focus, and building one success at a time.
If he had to put his ambition into one headline for Thriftizer, what would it read? Praveen smiles and says,
“From bootstraps to benchmarks-made in India, trusted worldwide.”
For anyone looking to build a business that endures, his advice is clear:
“Don’t chase trends. Solve a real problem, start small, value every client, and growth-real growth-will come. That’s how you build something that lasts.”
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