A) Tell us something about yourself. Also tell us about your journey till now ? I am Varunavi Chauhan. I completed my graduation in B.Com Hons from Gargi College in 2021. I have been involved in different activities since my childhood. During my college period, I was involved with many NGOs and Youthforum. I actively contributed to the societies of my college as well. I started PaperWorks India in March 2020. It is a sustainable start-up that I founded in my last year of college during an uncertain phase as the work culture didn't adapt to the Covid situation. I am really happy that I was able to make the most of the situation, where everything was quite uncertain. B) Tell us something about your startup, PaperWorks India?
We don't really think about stationery as a concept and a commodity that could be brought online. I created google form, asking people their ideas and opinion on the subject, as a part of my market strategy, to check whether it is feasible and adaptable or not. So I decided to implement the strategy, with the thought in my mind that even if I fail there's nothing harmful in it, I am going to learn from it in the end. From producing the final product to marketing it, I have learnt a lot. I believe as long as you are doing something that protects the environment and mankind, everyone is going to support you. We at PaperWorks use jute and promote the zero waste culture. We sell plantable stationery and gardening products in the form of miniature as well. We found different kinds of eco-friendly alternatives for products like pen, pencil, notebook, diaries and much more. We have a seed pen, pencil so once you are done with it, you can just plant that in soil. We also have a seed cover diary embedded with seed, one can save the notes and plant the cover which contains seed. We make sure that at the end our customer contributes towards the zero waste goal. We sell different shapes of seeds, vegetable herbs and flower seeds. We do regular testing just to make sure that it's working or not.
C) How did you come up with this idea and who were the other people involved with you in this project?
I founded PaperWorks India, in March 2020. I started my research in February, I was reading blogs on sustainability. There were many Classroom discussions on plastic waste, they helped me to question the existing use of plastic. I asked myself where am I being unsustainable in my aspect and I was puddled to realise that stationary was the major one.
On researching I got to know that a lot of plastic is used in stationary. That's when we came up with the entire idea of a start-up that promotes and supports zero waste culture, so we started with the stationary. My friends helped and supported me in this entire process.
D) How has been your three years at Gargi? Also tell us about a few experiences and memories that you will carry lifelong?
I believe college life prepares you for all uncertain things. It is a beautiful and perfect blend of joy and hardships. You meet different people, interact with them, learn about their different cultures, and grow as a sensible human. People in college try to cope with the surprisingly strenuous syllabus, learn to sit through a boring lecture, and one might get the opportunity to learn from some great minds and their research. And later applying them, like academia, as they say, never let you go free.
People of Delhi University have this privilege of learning a lot everyday, interacting with almost everyone irrespective of location, it helps you broaden your horizons. It's seriously amazing how the four walls of the classroom bring everyone together. Being in an all Women college was a very special and unique experience for me, as I did my schooling from co-ed. College life was amazing. From organising different fest to hanging out with friends, I have tons of memories to cherish. Classroom experiences were great, our teachers made it a safer place for sharing opinions and the lessons were fun.
I was a part of the marketing society and Commerce association. I was very much active in society, I was the sub-editor and head incharge of the yearbook. I was able to hone my leadership skills in the Marketing Society. Later, we came up with the idea of Entrepreneurship cell, wherein we were giving people the idea of leadership skill, team spirit and an opportunity to get heads-on experience by inviting company and NGO on-board.
E) As your idea is completely unique but we also can't deny the fact that bringing this into action must have been a big task. So what were the challenges that you faced to bring this to reality? And also give some insights to the people who are looking to have a startup.
One of the few challenges was the process of manufacturing and getting people who have the same mindset. Getting a vendor was one of the major challenges, we needed a vendor in less than a week or so as the country was going into complete lockdown.
I had this pressure to make the product exceptional and deliver it exceptionally as the concept of online stationery was new. Functioning in a Covid situation was also the major challenge. When we were pitching to cooperate, I didn't get the right responses, whether they liked the products and found the prize reasonable.
The unique experience was when I started delivering products in the very beginning, in that way I was able to know whether they liked the product, another advantage was interacting with customers live.
I would say, if I can do it, anyone can as long as you have even a rough idea and if it is uplifting your skills. Right intention and considerable amount of hard work is going to help you. Ideas could be the same but execution should be unique and clear. Connect with people and get their insight. Don't be afraid to fail, I feel there is a beauty in failure, it teaches you a lot.
F) Failure is a thing which teaches a lot so how many times have you encountered failures if we talk subjectively regarding your startup. And also share how you tackled it?
There were many challenges, I would say, evaluation of mistakes and a redirected effort is necessary in order to counter the failures or mistakes. Sometimes the social media marketing technique didn't work out, it was demotivating, we constantly thought how are we going to redirect it. We tried to change the method. We adopted and implemented new methods, and worked on every minute detail possible.
G) Every startup needs a capital to operate so being in your graduation how did you manage to gather adequate funds?
I started my start-up with 4000 Rs. I used to do photoshoots in my own home. We started selling out products and used the money generated from it for other expenses. Overall, we never asked for monetary help from anyone and that helped us grow and learn more.
H) Talking about the future perspective, what will be your moves in the next five to ten years?
The future is not a consequence of established facts. Where there’s uncertainty, our choices can make a difference. The future is unpredictable and that is a good thing.
I don't think it is possible for me to address this question, but I would want to expand our start-up from stationery to other products after a thorough and detailed research.
J) So how do you see your overall journey till now? If we ask you to sum up your overall journey, how would you do that?
The entire journey has been great till now college has shaped me into a confident and risk taking person. I believe the experiences play a very important role in the growth of an individual. Good learning experience focuses on being authentic, interactive, and collaborative to enhance engagement and improve knowledge retention. It adds value to the learner, encourages social learning, promotes learner self-assessment, and is inquiry-based. I never had the courage to start things on my own till I entered college. It taught me to get out of my comfort zone. The journey taught me that there is much more for me to learn from surroundings.
K) What advice would you like to give to every young soul wanting to achieve great heights?
In order to enjoy the ride, one should know how to accept the fears and challenges that come our way. I would say, understand the process.
Everybody thrives at a different speed, so acknowledge the difference. While your achievements matter, your failures matter too.
Be mindful and practical about what you want to do. Connect with your own self, accept yourself. Strengthen your strength and work on your weaknesses. Analyse everything and work on every short detail and most importantly enjoy the process.
Highlights of the Achiever's journey
Varunavi Chauhan is the founder of PaperWorks India.
She started PaperWorks India in March 2020 in her last year of college.
PaperWorks India is a sustainable start-up that she founded during the uncertain phase as the work culture didn't adapt to the Covid situation.
Before starting her PaperWorks India start- up. She used to create google form, asking people their ideas and opinion on the subject, as a part of my market strategy, to check whether it is feasible and adaptable or not.
Through PaperWorks she is promoting the zero waste culture.
Throughout her journey she worked with a positive attitude.
She faced many challenges during the initials of her start-up like: getting a vendor, manufacturing and getting people who have the same mindset.
She started her start-up with 4000 Rs. and used to do photoshoots in her own home. She also started selling out products and used the money generated from it for other expenses.
According to her "right intention and considerable amount of hard work will help you in your journey."
For the future she wants to expand her start-up.
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