Jaipur: Three tenth graders of a school in Jaipur, northwestern India, have received 30 million rupees for their start-up to make flavored water without preservatives.
Chetanya Golechha, Mrigank Gujjar and Utsav Jain of Neerja Modi School received the funds for their start-up “Infusion Beverages.” They have formulated the idea, found an investor and saw their product become a reality a year after they were kicked out of school fest.
Their school had organized an entrepreneurship fest in April 2016.
“Our presentation of the product failed to impress the judges in the fest. We were kicked out in the first round. Though we were out of the competition in the first hour we got the order of delivering 150 flavored water bottles,” said Golechha.
The trio grabbed the opportunity and delivered 150 bottles. Since then, they have not looked back, reports The Times of India.
The central theme of the start-up is making flavored water without adding any preservatives.
Gujjar said they searched Google to prepare a healthy drink without sugar and soda. “But soon we realized that turning an idea into reality is not easy when you are a minor,” he explained.
They had to procure license, necessary permissions from the food department and approval from FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India), which, he termed as a herculean task. “As we were minors our parents sought the permission on our behalf,” added the boy who is preparing for his tenth grade optional board exam.
To refine their idea, they participated in the entrepreneurship competitions at IIT-Kanpur and IIM-Indore and received wide appreciation. The major boost came after Malviya National Institute of Technology decided to incubate their idea. They also helped them apply for patent, which is in advanced stage.
By January, they had sold 8,000 bottles of flavored water—kewra, rose and bel flavors through business to business mode.
As they were looking for a major jump an investor called them to Indore for a meeting in January. “The meeting was successful in the first hour. They decided to fund Rs 3 crore (30 million rupees). Under the agreement, we have the responsibility of marketing and research. The plant will be based in Indore,” said Jain.
Aren’t you missing out on your teenage years? They replied, “Our dreams are big and we have to start early to achieve them. I don’t like people who sit idle till they complete their graduation or post-graduation. This early start will keep us ahead of everyone,” said Golechha.
Other than school textbooks, they read UG and PG books on management to learn the nuances of market.