Innovation & me

Cool funda

Having had enough of cola, Vivek Sonar yearned for different flavours, especially in this scorching heat. Soon after completing his mechanical engineering, he is now all set to launch the Quirky Beverage Company! Ambarsari Faraaaataa — a classic Indian masala soda, Jeera Pop – Jeera-based digestive drink, Monkey Mango — low carbonated aam panna and The Chatora- mint beverage are some of the special flavours being rolled out. 

A big foodie, Vivek has chalked out region-wise plan to offer drinks to suit the local tastes. Investment is huge in terms of time and it takes determination for your product to see the light of the day. Starting with Rs 3,500 of his own saving, he reached out to manufacturers to bottle samples. Courtesy family, friends and investors, Quirky Beverage Company is now a reality. Since youth is their target clientele, it’s through social media that they are trying to create a buzz and look forward to youth festivals. 

Mental game

A Masters in psychology, Aashna Narula knew how much emotional and mental support one needs during these fiercely competitive times; so, she set-up Psychopedia in 2015. Apart from mentoring young adults in personal, professional spheres, hers is an initiative to reach out and provide an environment of empathy, which pushes one to strive harder. 

Aashna is happy the way city residents are opening up to the issue of mental health, which has largely been a taboo till now. “Simple things; silly statements like ‘you are good for nothing’ from a parent or teacher can crush an adolescent’s self-esteem forever. The road to recovery from such blow is a tough one,” says the recipient of Women of the Future Award, who also mentors underprivileged children. 

Football fervour

A computer science graduate, Sheetanshu Shekhar is a huge sports enthusiast and Limit Infinity is a combination of both! Having started in 2013 with an app that gave real-time match timings anywhere in the world, Limit Infinity is an ecosystem for football fans who are passionate about clubs of English Premier League - Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and more. 

With a tremendous user-base running into a few millions from around the world, Shekhar is happy fighting fake news, especially in transfer season, and keeping the fans updated at all times. “Limit Infinity keeps you in touch with your idols. However, don’t ask for funding till you are ready,” he says. 

Biker boys

In the final year of electronics engineering, Aniket Bhardwaj founded Seacup Visionaries Private Limited, along with Shubham Goyal, with an idea to launch nine of the patented designs. It’s only then that he realised the cost was huge. Having started as a product design company, they are all set to launch an e-bike and raising funds at the moment. “E-Bikes are the future. While we have stiff global competition, in India it’s an area not yet explored,” he says. Taking Bosch e-bikes as the competition, Aniket is positive on the features of his product design, which promises better battery efficiency, faster charging and hordes of other features. 

Job curator 

Moving with the times is the crux of successful business and trust Sunil Rawal to ace it. A self-confessed start-up enthusiast, he was one of the core team members of Trideal in 2012.  He was also the co-founder of Uengage, a user-friendly mobile management system that helps businesses attract customers and generate revenue, and Shoutlo, a local content discovery platform, covering a wide spectrum of interests that includes food, events, travel, adventure, lifestyle and shopping. He along with Abhilasha Sidana is happy being a job-curator, rather than a job-seeker.

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Wide scope 

Chandigarh is a cultural conglomerate, totally justifying its symbol — Open Hand. People are open to ideas and there is no shortage of resources or manpower. Being strategically placed, it is the best place for a start up 

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Think twice

Simple things; silly statements like ‘you are good for nothing’ from a parent or teacher can crush an adolescent’s self-esteem forever. The road to recovery from such a blow is a tough one

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Patience pays

Limit Infinity keeps you in touch with your idols. However, don’t ask for funding till you are ready

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Future tense

E-Bikes are the future. While we have stiff global competition, in India it’s an area not yet explored

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Uphill task

It’s a tough task to retain competent team in Chandigarh. Youngsters move out rather quickly and maintaining the core is a challenge