About me
“True entrepreneurship isn’t just about building unicorns—it’s about empowering the dreamers in India’s heartland to create sustainable livelihoods and lasting impact.”
My Story: From Corporate Dreams to Bharat’s Ground Reality
I grew up in Odisha, chasing the same dream as many middle-class kids: corporate success, foreign degrees, and Silicon Valley glory.
Life had other plans.
But in 2015, while building Classystreet, my e-commerce venture in handloom sarees, I discovered something bigger:
India’s most resilient entrepreneurs were not in Bangalore’s tech parks, but in Sambalpur’s handloom villages, Gujarat’s cotton fields, and Varanasi’s silk workshops.
These artisans were running profitable, sustainable businesses for generations, yet lacked access to digital markets.
What they needed wasn’t VC capital—it was digital storytelling, e-commerce access, and market linkages.
That realization changed my mission: from chasing unicorns to building Bharat-first entrepreneurship frameworks.
My Mission: Democratizing Entrepreneurship Across Bharat
Vision: Make entrepreneurship accessible, understandable, and achievable for every Indian dreamer—regardless of geography, English fluency, or background.
Core Pillars:
Local Wisdom, Global Reach – Helping artisans, farmers, and small businesses go digital
Tier 2/3 City Innovation – Spotlighting founders outside metros
Vernacular Entrepreneurship – Empowering Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Odia-speaking entrepreneurs
Sustainability over Unicorns – Profit-first, valuation-second growth
Community-Led Models – Businesses rooted in trust, tradition, and relationships
My Work: Where Bharat Meets Business
1. As NITI Aayog Mentor for Change
Over the years, I have had the privilege of mentoring thousands of students across Atal Tinkering Labs in Odisha, guiding them to transform raw ideas into structured innovations.
In addition, I have worked with hundreds of ITI students under Skill Odisha, helping them understand entrepreneurship, digital tools, and pathways to self-employment.
I have also collaborated with Tata Trusts, mentoring 300+ tribal women artisans in Jajpur, Odisha to adopt digital storytelling and expand their markets.
Furthermore, in partnership with the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) under the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, I have trained hundreds of exporters on building sustainable global business strategies.
Through initiatives with the MSME Department, Government of Odisha, I have supported hundreds of artisans and small entrepreneurs in digitising their businesses, strengthening supply chains, and creating sustainable livelihoods.
Beyond these structured programs, I continue to guide individual founders—such as a Tamil Nadu agri-tech entrepreneur who successfully raised institutional funding, and a Gujarati textile innovator who built a sustainable supply chain spanning 50+ villages.
2. Founder of Classystreet
200+ artisan partners across 15 states
₹1+ Crore direct artisan income generated
2,000+ crafts preserved & promoted globally
Zero Middleman Model ensuring artisans earn directly
3. Webverbal – Democratizing Business Knowledge
Webverbal fills the gap left by metro-centric, English-heavy startup content.
Experience-Based: Lessons from failures & successes, not just theory
Local Context: Insights rooted in Bharat’s consumer behavior
Accessible: Business knowledge explained in simple, relatable terms
Community: Building peer-learning circles for founders
My Writing Philosophy
Every article on Webverbal carries real-world learnings from Bharat’s founders.
Expect to find:
Unfiltered Founder Stories – struggles + solutions
Bharat Market Insights – Tier 2/3 consumer behavior, cultural nuances
Practical Frameworks – models tested in Indian conditions
Personal Reflections – balancing growth, failure, and inner clarity
Why Bharat Needs Its Own Entrepreneurship Framework
The Silicon Valley playbook doesn’t work everywhere in India.
Cultural Context: Trust > transactions; family-driven decisions
Market Realities: Digital divide, infrastructure gaps, language barriers
Success Metrics: Profitability, livelihoods created, and community impact > fundraising
Webverbal’s Evolution
We’re expanding into a Bharat-first entrepreneurial ecosystem:
Vernacular content in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Odia
Founder mentorship circles
Local market research reports
Partnership networks for Tier 2/3 startups
Upcoming platform: MyBrandPitch → tools for grassroots founders to craft brand stories
Quick Facts About Me
Full Name: Debansh Das Sharma
Experience: 10+ years as entrepreneur & mentor
Roles: Founder (Classystreet, Webverbal, MyBrandPitch), NITI Aayog Mentor for Change
Impact: 200+ artisans, 300+ mentees, 2000+ crafts preserved
Expertise Areas: Bharat entrepreneurship, handloom sector, digital transformation, grassroots innovation
Languages: English, Hindi, Odia, learning Tamil
Media Mentions / Collaborations: Tata Trusts, NITI Aayog programs, grassroots entrepreneurship initiatives
Frequently Asked Questions – Webverbal & Bharat-First Entrepreneurship
Clear, experience-based answers about Webverbal, Bharat-first entrepreneurship, and Debansh Das Sharma’s work with Tier 2/3 founders, artisans, and grassroots innovators across India.
What is Webverbal and who is it for?
Webverbal is a Bharat-first entrepreneurship platform for Indian founders in Tier 2/3 cities and grassroots ecosystems. It shares experience-driven playbooks, market insights, and practical frameworks to help build sustainable, profitable businesses rooted in local wisdom and aimed at global markets.
What does “Bharat-First Entrepreneurship” mean?
Bharat-First Entrepreneurship prioritises India’s real markets—vernacular-first, relationship-driven, value-conscious, and locally rooted. It blends traditional strengths like trust and craft integrity with modern levers such as digital distribution, data, and brand storytelling.
How is Webverbal different from typical startup blogs?
Most startup content is metro-centric and theory-heavy. Webverbal is field-tested—distilling lived experience from artisan clusters, small-town founders, and real Indian market conditions into simple, actionable, contextually relevant guidance.
Who runs Webverbal?
Webverbal is founded by Debansh Das Sharma—entrepreneur, NITI Aayog Mentor for Change, and founder of Classystreet and MyBrandPitch—with 10+ years of experience mentoring grassroots innovators and building market linkages for traditional enterprises.
What impact has Debansh created so far?
Impact highlights include partnering with 200+ artisans across 15 states, enabling ₹1+ crore in direct artisan income, preserving and promoting 2,000+ crafts, and mentoring 300+ women artisans and first-generation founders through national innovation programs.
How can Tier 2/3 founders use Webverbal to grow?
Begin with unfiltered founder stories and market notes, apply step-by-step frameworks to validate demand and unit economics, and use checklists to improve positioning, pricing, and distribution for local markets with global ambition.
How can traditional businesses go digital without losing authenticity?
Adopt a “small steps, strong roots” approach: start with a simple digital storefront or WhatsApp Business, invest in product storytelling, protect margins with transparent pricing, and scale using lightweight tools for catalogues, payments, and logistics.
What languages does Webverbal support?
Content is primarily in English with growing support for Hindi, Odia, Tamil, and Bengali—making high-quality business education accessible to vernacular-first founders across India.
What is MyBrandPitch and how does it help founders?
MyBrandPitch (launching soon) helps grassroots and early-stage founders craft investor-ready brand narratives, digital pitch decks, and founder profiles—so authentic stories can unlock capital, trust, and market access.
How does Classystreet empower artisans and handloom clusters?
Classystreet connects artisan communities to national and international customers through a zero-middleman model, transparent pricing, and craft storytelling—preserving cultural heritage while enabling direct income growth.
Can I request mentoring or collaborate with Webverbal?
Yes. Founders, artisans, students, mentors, and investors focused on Bharat-centric innovation can request mentoring or propose collaborations by sharing context, goals, and current challenges for a focused conversation.
How do I stay updated with new Bharat-focused insights?
Subscribe for research updates and follow new analyses, founder playbooks, and field notes covering Tier 2/3 opportunities, vernacular entrepreneurship, and sustainable business building in India.
Connect & Collaborate
If you’re:
An artisan exploring digital tools
A student with big dreams from a Tier 2/3 college
A startup founder solving local problems
An investor interested in Bharat-focused ventures
Let’s collaborate.
LinkedIn – Professional Updates
Webverbal – Insights & Reports
Direct Message – Open for mentorship/collaboration