Vyapaar Siddharth Bothra

In this episode, I invited Shubham Singh – founder of Craste, a company creating value added products like packing materials, panel boards and paper from agricultural residue with the vision to create wealth from waste.



India generates more than 500 MILLION tonnes of agricultural residue every year. We are all aware of the incredible amount of pollution caused by stubble burning
because farmers don’t know what to do with so much waste.



Shubham saw this problem as an opportunity. With an abundance of agricultural residue – you could build systems to derive value added products from them. After 5 years of intensive R&D and a lot of patents filed, Craste is absolutely crushing it in this sector.



Value added products from agricultural residue, at scale, across various rural areas in India – could transform the country. And we should do whatever we can to support them!



I learnt a lot from Shubham in this podcast and we spoke about a range of topics like:



(00:00): Introduction



(02:15): How did Shubham first get a taste of entrepreneurship + building Gramiksha



(06:40): Moving back to academics > Imperial College of London – researching about carbon capture.



(10:48): Meeting the QUEEN OF ENGLAND.



(14:17): Getting into a entrepreneurship fellowship called ‘Waste to Value’.



(18:35): The problem of agricultural residue + creating products from this waste.



(23:00): THE JOURNEY FROM IDEA > R&D > EXECUTION.



(31:57): Making money from waste > entering the commercializing phase.



(34:25): THE PROCESS: converting agricultural residue into value added products.



(38:37): How is competition in this space? Can Craste compete with plastic packaging companies?



(43:00): How do you apply to Government fellowship programs?



(46:20): How does the future of Craste look like?



(49:00): RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS



You can reach out to Shubham at shubham@craste.co to get your hands on the 100+ business ideas that he has!



You can learn about government fellowships at Venture Center's website here



You can learn about what Craste is building here

In this episode, I invited Bhuman Dani – founder of WickedGud, a company promoting guilt free eating with the mission of un-junking one kitchen at a time.

Did you know that the noodles you eat are already deep fried? The pasta that you eat has a lot of refined flour? If you’re consuming these packaged foods on a daily basis, it’s not healthy – especially if it is being consumed by kids.

How do you solve this problem? You eliminate the deep fry process. You eliminate the refined flour. At the same time, try to keep the taste and texture. That’s exactly what WickedGud is trying to build.

With health icons like Shilpa Shetty representing the brand and with grabbing eye balls on Shark Tank, WickedGud has positioned itself perfectly to conquer the future of food.

I had a blast talking to Bhuman and we spoke about a range of topics like:

(00:00): Introduction

(01:11): How did Bhuman start his entrepreneurial journey? Was it in his blood?

(04:48): Is there a secret to crack BCG interviews?

(05:55): What tilted Bhuman to exit his first venture and start another venture towards guilt free eating?

(12:28): ELEVATOR PITCH

(15:57): How were the early days of WickedGud? Why did Bhuman start with Pasta? What were the methodologies adopted to go from idea to launch?

(21:46): NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES + using different technologies to drastically reduce saturated fats.

(33:08): Talking about traction, distribution strategies, geographies that are working for the brand and customer feedback.

(42:29): How was the experience of working with Shilpa Shetty to represent WickedGud?

(45:11): THE SHARK TANK EXPERIENCE

(49:17): What is the long term vision for WickedGud? Any new product launches in the pipeline?

(50:44): RAPID FIRE Qs

In this episode, I invited Bhagyashree Bhansali – founder of The Disposal Company, an organization that is helping brands to achieve plastic + carbon neutrality.


Imagine that you’re a brand that is using 100KG of plastic in your packaging, production etc. and you want to be able to offset your plastic footprint without setting your own recycling plant. You reach out to the folks at The Disposal Company.


They understand your plastic footprint. They coordinate with recyclers to ensure 100KG of similar plastic get recycled. And they sell you the plastic credits. It’s a win – win – win.


I had an amazing time talking to Bhagyashree & learnt a TON of stuff about plastic / carbon credits and how the waste management industry functions in general.


We spoke about a range of topics like:


(00:00): Introduction


(01:44): A brief dive into the psyche of Bhagyashree and her experiences


(05:45): How can a normal Indian citizen get into politics / activism / social service?


(10:00): When did Bhagyashree get exposure + building knowledge base about the waste management sector?


(17:00): BUILDING A BUSINESS: How did Bhagyashree transition into building a business around waste management


(19:56): Can Microplastics cause cancer?


(20:55): Getting into the business of plastic credits + starting THE DISPOSAL COMPANY


(22:54): Talking about the initial days + building traction


(26:10): How is the industry shaping up for the plastic credits market?


(29:42): ELEVATOR PITCH FOR THE DISPOSAL COMPANY + Understanding the B-model


(37:44): THE SYSTEM: Buying & selling of plastic and carbon credits


(42:46): Growth plan for the future


(44:18): How are environmental regulations shaping up for plastic / carbon neutrality?


(50:47): Collaborating with The Disposal Company


(52:23): What can normal Indian citizens do avoid excessive waste and avoid micro-plastics?


(58:39): RAPID FIRE Qs

If you’re a brand owner looking to offset your plastic / carbon footprint – The Disposal Company can help you. You can check out their website or reach out to the founder at bhagyashree@thedisposalcompany.com

In this episode, I invited Preksha Chopra - founder of Welme, a health and wellness company which has created a period pain relief device.

Welme, uses TENS technology to reduce period pain in women. It's clinically tested. Has no side effects. It's portable. It's sleek. You can wear it even while you work. Or while you party. No anti-biotics required.

I learnt a TON in this episode about period pain and asked a LOT of questions (some stupid ones too :P) and Preksha was kind enough to answer all of them which such calmness. She knows her stuff! We covered a range of topics like:

(00:00): Introduction

(01:30): What is Preksha building with Welme and talking about the science behind the tech

(04:20): The foundational events that led to the IDEA for Welme

(10:51): How does the Product work?

(13:08): How challenging was it to convince people to use a tech instrument to treat period pain? How was the initial response to Welme?

(17:15): Business in the blood?

(18:38): Talking about the MOAT and how Welme can stay one step ahead of the competition

(19:50): Why is talking about Periods still considered a Taboo?

(22:18): HYPOTHETHICAL Q: What would Preksha do if a big shot Pharma company approached her to buy Welme?

(25:35): What are the new products in the pipeline?

(27:10): Key learnings while building a business in the wellness space in India

(31:38): Talking about manufacturing, customer traction, marketing, product design and
distribution

(40:52): THE FUTURE OF WELME

(42:44): Some FAQs around period pain

(50:35): What’s the story behind the Logo and the name?

(53:00): LUCK VS HARDWORK



If you go through severe period pain, why not try out Welme? You can check out their website for exciting new stuff in this space!

I enjoyed the conversation with Sharan so much that we created content equal to two episode. This is the second part where we spoke about the following:



(00:13): What does it take to build a company in India? Talking about challenges + key learnings

(06:04): How to get your product placed in supermarkets and offline distribution channels?

(08:49): How does the FMCG business work?

(11:58): BOOTSTRAPPING VS FUNDRAISING

(20:07): How do you compete with a player who is funded when you’re bootstrapped?

(24:15): How is it like having a sibling as a Co-Founder? How do the dynamics play out while running the business?

(28:12): Creating a logo to create engagement + capture attention

(31:52): Story behind the name ‘Sober & Co’

(34:53): Success Factor: LUCK VS HARDWORK

In this episode, I invited Sharan Kripalani - founder of Sober & Co, a ready to drink premium handcrafted lifestyle beverage company.

They use exotic ingredients to curate innovative flavors, and looking at their aesthetic bottles will make you want to partyyyy! Staying sober, would be a challenge ;)

I had a lot of fun talking to Sharan about how things work in the FMCG beverage market and learnt a ton of stuff in this conversation. We covered a range of topics like:



(00:00): Introduction

(04:16): Sober & Co – a brief insight into this exciting beverage brand

(08:15): The FMCG beverage market – is it ripe for disruption?

(11:21): How did Sharan’s entrepreneurial journey start?

(14:30): Talking about the initial days @ Sober & Co

(17:27): TIMELINE – converting an idea into a product on the shelf

(25:26): THE ELEVATOR PITCH FOR SOBER & CO

(28:50): Sugar, sugar, sugar – why it is important to create a zero sugar beverage brand

(33:31): Talking about customer traction and product adoption

(36:31): WHAT’S THE BEST SELLING FLAVOR?

(40:12): What is the best performing geographical location in India for their beverages? [I thought it was going to be Delhi!]

(44:04): Who is the typical customer and which distribution channel is working really well?

(47:01): THE PIPELINE – new flavor launches and exploring new geographies



What are you waiting for? Order your first bottle from Sober & Co's website. You can also find them on Amazon or Bigbasket.