Dirty Toilet Seats Birthed a Business Idea, Which Has Now Turned into a Successful Start-up

 

Women do a lot of things to avoid the threat of using public toilets, while men have it easy. The difference is that men don't have to touch any surface. Lenient and essential solution. Run by 34-year-old entrepreneur Deep Bajaj, PeeBuddy has caused a stir among women, especially athletes and those who have to be outdoors for long hours. Pee Buddy Private Limited recorded a turnover of Rs 1 crore in 2016-2017 and is expected to end at around Rs 2.5 crore in 2017-2018. In addition to Pee Buddy, the company has started to manufacture products such as wipes wet, underarm pads, menstrual cups, herbal pads and patches for pain relief.

Overall, these products were created with the personal needs of women in mind. A graduate of the University of Delhi, Deep went on to obtain his Master's in Marketing in Australia in 2006. The idea for Pee Buddy came to him in 2013 while he was traveling with his wife Rashi. Before that, however, he had tried various other things. “I was a very active student and always organized one or the other event in DU.”Returning home after completing my studies in Australia, I turned my skills into my profession by starting a business.Event management.

After a successful run, I sold my shares in the company in 2010. "He shares, speaking of his early career. He married Rashi Chaudhary in 2009. She is a carpet designer and they both founded Carpet Couture. , a company producing designer rugs, mainly supplied to hotels. From Delhi to Jaipur in 2013. After complaining about dirty bathrooms at every stop, I realized how bad the situation was.

"Then, when Rashi got pregnant, every now and then he had to go to the bathroom. It becomes problematic to lean up and down every time, especially if the person has to use the Indian toilet. Another segment of women who have difficulty bending over even to use a western toilet are women with arthritis. PeeBuddy is easy to use, made of environmentally friendly material, easy to carry in a bag and can be easily thrown away after use - a great solution for all of these situations.

Extensive research into urination devices and realized that they have been around since 1919, but India had not yet opened up to the idea. His brother Mohit Bajaj joined him during the design training phase and now handles accounting, finance and manufacturing while Deep takes care of sales, marketing and public relations. The brothers patented the design in 2015 and formed PeeBuddy Private Limited in July 2015. For two and a half years they sold the project on a pilot basis to friends and family to test the device and see if it fulfilled.

well its role. "Initially, men were reluctant to sell the product because the concept of a female urination device was considered taboo, so we contacted doctors who recommended the product to their patients who could not easily bend down." , explains Deep. . . “And once the reviews started pouring in, we knew we were on the right track. We realized that marketing the product in local kirana (grocery) stores was not going to be a good idea.We have therefore made agreements with department stores where women buy for their leisure and have the time to see the characteristics of a product in peace.

They now have a B2B link with Flipkart, Amazon, and Religare among other online retail stores to reach potential customers. As retail chains take 50 percent of the profit and shipping costs are high, they are now keen to promote their products on social media and sell them directly to customers. For brand awareness, they link up with event planners who offer the product free to their guests.

Deep invested Rs 8,090 lakh in the business over a period of two years. Some friends also contributed the money because they saw great potential in the product. Deep also entered CNBC's Young Turks Tie the Knot Competition for Startups, which he won in March 2017. Subsequently, India Angel Network (IAN) invested Rs 2.96 crore in his business, valuing the commercial potential at 15 crore rupees. IAN now owns 20% of the company's shares, with the remaining shares held by Deep and Mohit.

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