Earlier this week, the Delhi Government organised the first investment expo and summit at Thyagaraj Stadium.
More than a hundred government schools presented their business and start-up ideas to the investors at the Business Blasters Expo and Summit, thus showing the positive results of the state government’s Entrepreneurship Mindset curriculum.
Students studying in Classes 11 and 12 brought their products and services to the expo. From products used for security purposes to software development, these students have shown their creativity and entrepreneurial skills.
Patriot talked with some of the students to know their business blaster journey. Digital Suraksha, a start-up by the students of class 11, studying at Government Senior Secondary School, Ambedkar Nagar was a source of attraction for many visitors. Their product ‘Chor Machaye Shor’ is an alarm system used in shutters.
While talking with Patriot, one of the team members Saurav explained the utility of the product saying, “It is a security device which is installed behind the shutter. If someone tries to tamper with the lock of a closed shutter, it will go off at 110 decibel, and two calls will be generated from this device to warn the shop owner.”
Elaborating on the reason for developing this product, Saurav said, “Initially, we were developing this device as a science project. But, later when the Entrepreneurship Mindset curriculum project was introduced, we developed it further. First there was no calling system in the device, but later, we took help from a technician and developed this product.”
Digital Suraksha is run by a six-member team. Around Rs 2,700 is spent on manufacturing a single unit which is then sold at a price of Rs 4,500. But currently, they are selling this product at Rs 4,000.
When asked about how they will develop this product in the future, Saurav said, “Currently, we have attached a mobile phone inside the device. In future, we will replace it with GSM sim slot. We will also develop an app to control this device.”
Initially, their team raised Rs 12,000 as seed money given by the state government and later, when their product was selected via Business Blaster, they found an investor who invested Rs 1.75 lakh in their start-up. Currently, they have sold a total of 26 devices.
Another start-up idea by the students of Naraiyana’s Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya was attracting the eyeballs of the investors. Nikhil, with his eight-member team studying in class 12, has developed ‘OTT hub’, a platform that rents streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Hotstar on an hourly basis. Moreover, they are also using WhatsApp and Instagram to connect with the customers.
Speaking about how the OTT hub works, Nikhil said, “Some people are not financially strong enough to buy subscriptions of these OTT platforms. We at OTT hub, give them the access to these platforms on hourly basis. Currently, we are charging Rs 5 per hour to access a single OTT platform.”
The tag line for OTT hubs explains its concept aptly: Jab film ho ghante ki, tab subscription kyo mahine ki (hen the movie is only a few hours-long, then why subscribe for a whole month?) “Suppose you want to watch a movie which is three hours long, and you don’t want to buy a subscription which would cost you hundreds of rupees, then in this situation, we have the solution,” Nikhil adds.
Nikhil also states that several investors have been wondering if the service is legal or not. “Currently, we are trying to contact OTT platforms to know more about the legal aspect of our idea. But in future, we would develop an app to cater to a larger customer base”, he says.
Till now, they have invested around Rs 3,000 in this idea and have made a revenue of Rs 4,000 by providing this service to more than 100 satisfied customers.
Two students of class 12, studying at the School of Excellence, Kichripur, have developed affordable Bluetooth speakers. According to Yash, who has produced these speakers, These speakers have all the features like any other Bluetooth speaker. “We have installed a USB slot, memory card slot and aux cable in these speakers, and in future, we will add features like a remote control in these speakers”, says Yash.
The manufacturing price of ‘Speaker Sters’ is Rs 320 per piece and they are selling this at Rs 399. Yash also informed us that if they manufacture this in bulk quantity, it will cost them Rs 230 apiece. Yash looks at the manufacturing and his partner Khushi takes care of marketing. “We are in talks with Snapdeal for order of 500 speakers but supply of wooden case is a big issue for us and another thing which is haunting us is the tension of exams,” says Yash.
Students of Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Sultanpur, have set up a small manufacturing unit to produce charging cables and aux wires under their start-up, Sun Shine Accessories. They produce USB cables, type-C cables and lightning Cables for Apple products.
While talking with Patriot, Baljit Kumar, a student of Class 12 and one of the members of the eight-students team at Sun Shine Accessories said, “We are manufacturing all kinds of data cables. Customised cables in different lengths and sizes are available. One thing which makes us unique is that we provide 24×7 replacement with one-year warranty. At this time, we are operating in one room, where we have set up a small manufacturing unit”.
They have sold more than 1,500 cables of which only 40-50 cables have come back for replacement, Baljit said.
Initially, they were provided with seed money of Rs 16,000 of which Rs 11,000 was invested in their start-up and the remaining Rs 5,000 is kept aside as emergency funds. Team Sun Shine has made a profit of Rs 8,000 and in future, they are thinking of expanding their business pan India. Soon, they will also start manufacturing adapters.
Unique Water Tech is a start-up by the students of Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Chand Nagar; their idea could save millions of litres of water. Sidharth, the technical leader of the team, explained the product and its functionality saying, “Unique Tech is a fully automatic water meter. If the tank gets filled, it will automatically switch off the motor. And if the tank gets empty, it will automatically switch on the motor. It will save both electricity and water and will protect the walls from dampness.”
When asked about how they came up with the idea to develop this product, Sidharth said, “We are all residents of Khayala and water wastage is a big problem in the area. Keeping this in mind, we have invested our time and money in the start-up. My father also helped us in the production of a unique water tech system”.
He further discussed the journey towards the final product. Initially, they were not able to make a perfect water meter but later, Sidharth’s father helped them identify the errors, post which, they relied on trial and error. Designing and manufacturing are done by the students. After investing Rs 6,000, the team has made a profit of Rs 15,000 by selling 30 pieces as of now.
“We are thinking of adding a timer to the device. This will help those houses where water supply is not regular. We will also ramp up our manufacturing to cater to a larger customer base in the region”, says Sidharth
, While interacting with the media, Delhi’s Deputy CM and Education Minister Manish Sisodia termed this expo as a success. In the future, Delhi Government will extend this programme to private schools, which will benefit thousands of students in the capital.
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