Meet the Founders who started during Covid-19 times and are thriving in a pandemic year
2020 was a tough time for many companies but as quoted by Aristotle Onassis, “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” These groups of entrepreneurs are working to pioneer businesses that tackle everything from building better sustainable products to making ‘Smart Home Technology’ accessible to every home in the country before the end of this decade and becoming a key contributor to the nation’s economy.
Here is a list of entrepreneurs from different sectors who sailed through the challenging COVID-19 times to make an impact.
Roopa Hariharan and Sumit Anand, Co-founders, PureCult
Roopa and Sumit believe doing your bit for the environment is no longer just about giving up the use of plastic. Roops Hariharan is an eco-warrior, ensuring sustainability starts from her own house. Pure Cult was born out of Roopa’s desire to lead an environmentally conscious life. After attending an insightful session at the World Economic Forum in 2019, Roopa made some significant changes in her own household. She switched from diesel cars to completely electric vehicles and even adopted greener solar energy for her home.
In addition to this she also simultaneously kept looking for cleaner alternatives to personal care and home care. Finding alternatives was not difficult but finding effective alternatives which work well was difficult, so she eventually decided to do something about it herself, in the hope to make such products available to people who are environmentally conscious by launching PureCult – a brand of clean alternatives to traditional and harmful chemical-laden homecare products. The company aims to continue to work hard to find cleaner alternatives including removal of virgin plastic in its product packaging and in the long term complete removal of plastic use.
Niyati Chander, COO & Co-founder, SmartDen
Niyati is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of SmartDEN, an Indian start-up that is focused on evolving and upgrading lifestyle by transforming regular homes into smart homes. She believes that through SmartDEN, she is providing a platform for every homeowner to lead an efficient and eco-friendly lifestyle. She is carving her own niche in the home industry by promoting green living and monitoring carbon footprints.
Her right approach is what nudged her to start SmartDEN during the pandemic and has built a significant team within few months of its birth.
Boju’s Kitchen
A 23-year-old political science graduate from the Delhi University, Chitrangadha Gupta, along with her mother, Arati Gupta, and grandmother Maiyya Thapa, started sought-after momos making and delivery service under the name Boju’s Kitchen. The venture was started in July 2020, with an initial investment of Rs 2,000. The money was used to purchase various ingredients used in making momos. They started with catering six-seven orders per day, mostly from friends and family to more than 30 orders, and now deliver all over Delhi.
