Help Us Green The Clean Tech Company

Create the ‘best out of waste’ is something we all learn in school. But childhood friends Ankit Agarwal and Karan Rastogi have turned itinto a business model with their start-up. Founded in 2015, Kanpur-based HelpUsGreen aims to create eco-friendly products out of temple waste – usually rotting flowers – and prevent it from getting dumped into rivers. 

“We had often seen tonnes of temple waste getting dumped into the Ganges and were determined to do something about it,” says Agarwal, who earlier worked with Symantec Corporation in Pune as an automation scientist. In January 2015, he and Rastogi, who holds a Master’s degree from Warwick Business School, began pursuing this dream seriously. 

With an initial investment of Rs.72,000, the duo began collecting waste from temples in Kanpur and experimenting on what they could do with it. Soon, they had a product range that includes vermicompost, soaps and thermocol made from flower waste. They also came up with a technique to roll the incense sticks with flowers instead of charcoal. 

From 12 kg, HelpUsGreen today collects about 4.4 tonnes of waste every day. The flowers are recycled and turned into eco-friendly products at a factory in Kanpur, which provides livelihood to 92 women. Once ready, the products are sold through online channels and select retail stores. 

“We clocked sales of Rs.1.2 million in the first year and Rs.5.6 million in the second,” says Agarwal. The start-up has also raised a million dollars from angel and corporate investors. “We also have 6 patents in the pipeline and are planning to expand to the US,” says Rastogi. In India, the start-up is expanding to other cities including Varanasi, Mathura, Vrindavan, Haridwar and Kolkata. The start-up is currently rebranding itself and will be launching its products under the brand, Phool.