On March 24th, 2020, PM Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown that would continue for the next 14 days. Little did we know that it would be extended for the next 2 and a half months, with most regions in India being closed despite the decrease in coronavirus cases. It took a while before the lockdown was eased. While sitting at home, people were trying to tackle their losses and innovate to become self-sufficient as a means to pass time. Little did they know that their small ideas could become big ventures within a year.
Here’s looking at some of the startups that originate as a result of the lockdown in 2020.
Gradeazy
Gradeazy is based in Surat and was established in 2020 to help schools and colleges to conduct online examinations with ease. Since the concept of transitioning online was fairly new at that point in time, the company started by duo Dishant Gandhi and Alok Kumar helped institutes conduct online exams for just Rs. 1. Digitization has stuck around for quite a few years but institutes have been paying nearly Rs. 10-15 to conduct every exam, making it difficult to manage finances. With Gradeazy, all these institutes can follow an easy process to fulfill their requirements.
Felicity
The lockdown confined a number of people to their homes, without the scope of stepping out anytime soon. Some others even lost their jobs hampering their mental health and physical wellbeing. Through Felicity, Vaibhav and Pratika Khandelwal aim to make people’s lives better by providing online mental counseling at affordable rates.
Greenhive
The lockdown saw an increase in nature’s healing process, with the elimination of industry-run vehicles and the pollution emitted as its result. At the same time, Greenhive took full opportunity to add more to nature by devising sustainable products. Through the eco-friendly paper, straws, brushes and other essentials, the company run by Abhishek Deo and Gaurav Sarangi became an instant hit in Rourkela.
CustKart
CustKart stands for customized products that are run by duo Abhishek and Kundan Mishra. It was launched in June, last year, as a way of creating jobs for locals in Jharkhand and give back to the community. With CustKart, the brothers want to provide customizable merchandise like hoodies, caps, and t-shirts. Now, the company has a turnover of Rs. 50 lakhs and wishes to expand as a standard merchandiser in India.
ChefJunction
Last year’s lockdown saw a number of home-based chefs and bakers coming to the purview. However, not all of them had a platform to sell their food varieties and earn profits on a large scale. This is when Suryanshu Panda and Epari Pritam decided to create ChefJunction, which connects users with home chefs and bakers to enjoy a home-cooked meal. This was done to promote the idea of #VocalforLocal and help people enjoy hygienic food at affordable costs.
Source: YourStory
