5 years of GARV!
As I sit down to write this, subconsciously my mind takes me back to the tumultuous period I was going through at the start of this decade. I was looking to expand and stabilize our family business, where we were working as a manufacturing vendor for few of the biggest OEMs. While learning the nuances of business, every day seemed to be a struggle as it was becoming clear to me that I don’t belong here. I always wanted to be in the midst of manufacturing, but the inclination was more towards product development and marketing. Coming out of IRMA and a background in manufacturing, I wanted to connect the dots somewhere. I thought of manufacturing agricultural equipment, didn’t find a good market fit for it. I thought of doing solar powered lamps for the rural markets but couldn’t compete with the influx of Chinese products. Meanwhile, the existing business was accruing losses due to some of my incorrect decisions and a few customers backing out on their business commitments. Ultimately, we knew that we would have to shut it down and probably do away with some of our assets.
It was during these trying times, my resolve to develop a niche product became even stronger. One of the last manufacturing assignments we did was for the telecom infrastructure companies, where we had manufactured Base-Transreceiver Stations (BTS cabinets), these cabinet enclosures are used to house telecom electronic equipment alongside the telecom towers. After we were done with this project it struck me that these cabinets have an uncanny resemblance with portable toilets. It was around this time that the Swachh Bharat Mission was also launched, and growing up in India I knew that public toilets have been an unaddressed developmental issue where all of these are either vandalized or irregularly maintained. These were the principle triggers for me to decide that we will get into building toilets out of metal so that they could be produced out of a factory and curb vandalism.
But the times had changed drastically, from leading a team of 120 odd employees and running 2 manufacturing units, I was left with nothing, except for all the learning and hope that things will turn around for the better. I called some of my ex-colleagues to help me build this product, 3 of them came forward and we tested our prototypes in a make-shift workshop. I started brainstorming with Megha and some of my good friends about the prospects of this product. We came to a conclusion that pre-fabricated structures can be done by a lot many people in the industry, we will have to leverage new-age technology for making the toilet infrastructure Smart which would provide a real-time feedback on user-hygiene behavior and regular maintenance. We tested our prototypes in the semi-rural industrial belts of Faridabad (India) with industrial workers being the primary users as they did not have any toilet facilities in the factories that they worked for. They were over-joyed with the new kind of a steel toilet, that had self-flushing, self-cleaning, good lighting, ventilation and most importantly didn’t smell bad. That joy, that smile by our users, made a whole lot of a difference to us. We replicated some more pilots to establish the PoC and it worked. This was definitely an encouraging sign, we went ahead, developed a business plan, client presentations and some very naïve marketing collateral. We had set-off on a path which very few people would have opted to take up professionally. Many of my well-wishers, close contacts were guiding me towards opting for lucrative possible business opportunities instead of Toilets. But, somewhere my gut told me that I have to do this. I had committed 100% of my time to this venture. Honestly, I didn’t want to have a plan B. As Arnold — The Terminator puts it, when we have a plan B, our energies aren’t concentrated, we tend to lose focus, I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to be focused!
I started reaching out to my network, family, friends, long lost friends, business associates, long lost business associates and almost everyone that I could think of. I was desperately looking for any possible lead. Yes, I was Desperate!
I kept knocking doors, for one whole year, nothing worked. Family members were losing hope and were pushing me to get into a job. While I always thought that it’s just a matter of time, but the reality was very different, there were days, when I did not have 2 dollars in my pocket. But, the ever-optimistic guy in me knew that we will surely get some good leads, I was Hopeful!
Seniors and batch mates from IRMA, connected me to some relevant platforms where I was able to connect, interact and learn from some of the leaders in the WASH sector. While, a few of them liked the idea but a lot of them including the torchbearer, pioneer of public toilet movement in India very categorically told me, ‘This is not going to work in India’. Now, this could have been a shattering statement for any new business at the idea stage. I took it up as a challenge to prove it to the world that we are in this to build a sustainable business model around this innovative product.
We did not get any business in the first 18 months but inquiries were consistent. We utilized this time by participating in competitions, acceleration programs, to get a better understanding of the start-up world, social impact space, and the WASH (Water-Sanitation-Hygiene) vertical to be very particular. I attended every meeting, every training, every presentation, I made it a point that no appointment is missed. Looking back today, I realize that almost every meeting, every call, every program that I attended, has come back to us with a possible business association, directly or indirectly, with a lag of 6 months or 3 years, but it has worked wonders in ways which are still best known to the almighty. I still tell a lot of my associates that even today, 90% of our business has come through contacts, from the acceleration programs we participated in. Even though, a few times it felt like people are taking advantage of the fact that we were novices, we kept learning out of every meeting, out of each experience. This is the only reason that I continue to religiously follow this routine of never letting an honest opportunity pass-by. Having a firm-belief, that each meeting is meant for a specific reason.
Though ‘Business’ for us took some time to come, but the idea was appreciated and awarded at multiple global forums adjudged by the sector leaders. This appreciation of the product kept us going, it meant that the idea had some meat in it. So, when the tide was low, the global recognition, awards were the real motivating factor.
Eventually, after about 2 years of rigorous grind, things started to turn, we got opportunities to work with some of the big NGOs in the sector, an opportunity to showcase our product to the world. We made sure that our products stand out, our services are well-received, and the users are happy! Today as we complete 5 years, with about 900 toilet installations, 170,000 users every day, saving CO2 emissions, recycling water, caring about the environment with a circular economy approach through eco-friendly waste management, we take a lot of pride in delivering our projects, in making sure that each project is a show-case project.
As I look back today, from where we started and how far we have come, I can’t be thankful enough to my family who invested in the idea, to my friends, who helped me emotionally and financially, you guys should know that it wouldn’t have been possible without you. I am indebted to our investors and mentors from INVENT, IIT Kanpur and Toilet board Coalition who keep pushing us to be at our best everyday.
I consider myself lucky for the fact, that I have had the honor of working with some of the best minds out there, my friends, my batchmates, juniors from my college IRMA, my ex-colleagues that joined us back, who have been passionate enough to work their ass off everyday. I would not budge here in revealing that the passion my team brings to the table for working towards this cause is next to none, they made sure that I didn’t give up in the trying times. It is only for their persistence and hard work that we are a profitable, sustainable company which positively impacts millions of lives every day.
In these overwhelming times today, we can’t really be sure of the emerging new world order, but I can see, that globally, safe hygiene practices will be promoted at a larger scale and get their due importance. Proactive detection and prevention of communicable diseases through intelligent diagnostics and data analytics will emerge as the game changer. As we plan our journey for the next 5 years, let’s take even more Pride (GARV) in what we have set out to achieve. 10,000 Well-maintained Hygienic Toilet installations, 50 SMART Sanitation centers, Real-time Hygiene diagnostics, 2 Million happy users every day, targeting under-served areas, slum settlements, urban markets, highways, refugee camps and metro stations. There will be times, when we will need to find our way through tricky areas, difficult situations, eventually we will ensure that we come out as a winner, we have done it a lot many times, we will keep at it. We have to make sure, that our quality products leave a mark as we move forward in providing basic access to sanitation services and clean drinking water to the most under-served communities. There is No Plan B!!
#LetsGetTheCrapDone #TheFutureOfPublicSanitation
PS: The following might look cliché’. There is still a lot that we as an organization want to achieve, but considering where we are today, I believe we can always share some of our experience and learning with fellow entrepreneurs, colleagues and peers:
1. There is no by-pass to staying focused.
2. Passion for your idea is the real game-changer. It’s infectious!
3. Getting desperate is awesome.
4. If possible, being blissfully ignorant helps 😊
5. Being hopeful and being optimistic works wonders.
6. Stay true to yourself.
7. Mantra: Humility, Gratitude, Attitude!
Cheers!
