The rolling paper brand in India some years ago was a very slow market. Plus, it was largely unorganized. People had to make do with counterfeit products from China which were of very low quality and offered no innovation and very little choice to suit a varied customer base. It was more of a “one size fits all” market. The attitude of the seller was take it or leave it. There were simply no Indian brands present at all.

Enter SLIMJIM- founded by two young and eager entrepreneurs Kunaal Kapoor and Nikunj Ahuja. They hit upon the idea to fill this demand supply gap with a portfolio of completely above the board range of products, which complied with every legal aspect as well as met customer expectations. Today it offers the widest selection of rolling papers, filters, pipes, bongs, 100% Nictoine Free Tobacco Substitutes and an eclectic collection of wall décor, gifts, munchies, footwear and more.

Says Kunaal, “Luckily we were the first to the Market, whether the first rolling paper brand in India or the first to launch an e-commerce portal for a variety of recreational tobacco substitute and smoking accessories. We were always the first one and people followed us. To us when people followed our business model, it meant we were definitely doing something right!”

SLIMJIM: A small idea which rolled along to grow smartly

SLIMJIM as launched almost a decade ago, with a modest seed capital of just INR 20,000/-. The business idea came during a casual discussion among friends after a game of soccer and it has now grown to be one of India’s most popular resource for those interested in tobacco substitute products. From trying to sell by going to one paan wala to the next, SLIMJIM has now evolved to even become the official distributor of several imported brands and has the mandate to handle the all-India sales for them.

Says Nikunj “Our strength is that we deliver pan India. We have a physical presence in Mumbai, and Pune and plan to expand to Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad by 2022. We deal with about 5000 customers every month and it is the sheer variety that we offer that keeps the same customers coming back to us.”

In India, the smoking accessories business is really undervalued. With the committed team that SLIMJIM has built there is great chance to capture the end consumer. The growth trajectory has been steady and with the laws that will start supporting the legal consumption of cannabis, the next 10 to 15 years promises to bring in great opportunity in markets across India.

The real challenge lies ahead… but we are prepared

During the course of growing its business the SLIMJIM team has naturally come across a lot of people who smoke tobacco habitually. What it intends to do through the SLIMJIM portal is to inform and educate this specific category. It is a long term plan to foster and nurture a culture, where instead of smoking tobacco, people consciously switch to healthier alternative like Marshmallow Leaves, Ayurvedic Herbs etc.

As a company SLIMJIM has always taken a valid anti-tobacco stand. In the long run it hopes that one day tobacco sales will be seeing a slow but steady decline and it will be replaced with a whole lot of healthier alternatives.

To know more, visit –

Website – https://slimjim.in/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/slimjimindia/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/slimjimindia/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SlimjimIndia
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx9-2lyl1O2WxkRFfnI0nSA

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press, visit — https://www.thebusinesspress.in/

Many people in India still find it difficult to cope with the advancement of technology. As the gap widens between the rising speed to technological advancement and the old school methods of keeping ledgers and maintaining their personal and business accounts, it becomes imperative to come up with a solution that bridges the gap between the surging need for a system that is easy on books and easy on the hand quite literally. Also, for most new-age entrepreneurs, invoicing is the most tedious and time-consuming activity, one that requires keeping track of your billings and transactions in a meticulous and organised manner.

Launched on 24th July 2021 by Amaan Thakur, Quick Invoice is a start-up dedicated to creating easy and time-efficient invoices so that your dream business becomes more organised and professional in no time. The services are meant to guide small-scale businesses, individuals and freelancers, thus helping them singlehandedly manage money-related matters.

Let’s get a peek into the beginning of a beautiful journey

28-year-old Amaan set up Quick Invoice armed with nothing but loads of conviction and a sum of ₹30 Lacs. Being a visionary that he was, Amaan quickly identified the necessity of simplifying the process of billings and invoicing, making them absolutely easy and fun while looking professional and presentable. This would ensure clients perform at their full potential without spending hours in sending out quotations, making invoices, managing accounts on paper or overwhelming excel sheets. Gradually he realised how Quick Invoice could help businesses with less resources handle their invoicing and accounting on their own. Thus, finally Quick Invoice was released for the public.

Quick Invoice – Your trusted partner in matters related to money

In the current market there’s a lack of a perfect solution for handling the business transactions and invoices. All the available solutions are either too vast, too complicated or too technical for common people to understand apart from being expensive. And the cheaper solutions in the market are highly limited in their functionality making the business look small timers, unprofessional and cheap which doesn’t circulate a positive image about their businesses.

Quick Invoice is an invoicing and accounting software, designed and developed with a keen focus to enable individuals, freelancers and small-scale business community to streamline and vastly simplify their process of accounting and invoicing while being cost-effective. It allows users to create GST compliant invoices, manage multiple businesses in one place, extract Sales and GST Reports and enables users to access the platform via all devices with a compatible interface. It also provides visual reports and insightful analytics which improves the decision making of our users for their business.  Its services are spread across India online. Quick Invoice is currently helping 5000+ small businesses and individuals to manage their invoicing and accounting efficiently.

Zooming into the future

The future looks all beaming and bright for the two-month-old company. It’s professional approach and customer-friendly services have already created quite a stir. Talking about future plans, Amaan says “We aim to be the best choice of invoicing and accounting solution for creators, freelancers and small businesses. We have plans to develop Quick Invoice into a complete business management system for the above-mentioned businesses. Along with that an ERP system for larger scale organisations.”

Quick Invoice Team

To know more, visit –

Website: https://www.quickinvoice.in/welcome/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quickinvoice/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quickinvoice.in
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/quickinvoice/
Ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmHBBaaOaXY

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press, visit — https://www.thebusinesspress.in/category/startup-stories/

If there is one buzzword that instantly grabs your attention in this Covid World, it is virus. It is due to this virus that concepts like mask, sanitizers, lockdown and quarantine have become the norm and have altered life as we know it. Simple tasks like going to office, visiting a garden, meeting loved ones, eating a meal in a restaurant are now off limits and most of us have been forced to become home bodies.  

The air around us is filled with millions of invisible bacteria and viruses that can create deadly diseases and wreak havoc on the human body. As the world grapples with a lethal airborne virus, there is a dire need for innovative methods that help destroy any harmful viruses or bacteria in the atmosphere. The answer to this problem lies in My Safety Card.

Decades of Experience

Your shield against any kind of airborne bacteria, My Safety Card is an innovative product that releases a chemical into the air and destroys all viruses present. This protects you from any potential diseases and ensures that you breathe clean and fresh air. The card offers up to 99.9% sterilization rate and can effectively help you block bacteria, fungi and molds present in the air.

My Safety Card is a product created by JD Surgical which has earned a glorious reputation in the pharmaceutical vertical over 25 years in the pharma industry. Founders Dilip H Panchal and Nehal D Panchal wanted to create a product that is not only unique but also useful for a large number of people. So with a wealth of experience in research, production and distribution, they set out to create this unique product that can help so many people live better.

My Safety Card: Making the World A Cleaner Place

This one of a kind product has received several accolades from reputed associations. My Safety Card was the recipient of Best Innovation in January 2020 by Gujarati Mid Day. With products being exported  to various countries like Germany, UAE, USA, Africa, Nepal and many more, My Safety Card has truly made its mark on the world map. My Safety Card is completely manufactured in India and is proud to be a part of the Make in India initiative.

Since the brand believes in sustainability it has done away with the use of plastic and has adopted medical grade metal products in its production. This has not only improved its utility but also encouraged users to adopt sustainability in their daily lives. My Safety Card can be used by anyone and is suitable for children, adults as well as senior citizens. The card is small in size and can easily fit into your pocket, making it ideal for all kinds of travel as well.

To know more, visit –
Website – http://www.jdsurgical.in/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/_mysafetycard/
Indiamart – https://www.indiamart.com/jd-surgical/antibacterial-card.html

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press, visit – https://www.thebusinesspress.in/category/startup-stories/

“Philanthropy is not about money. It’s about using whatever resources you have at your fingertips and applying them to improve the world!” – Melinda Gates.

Art For A Cause is a company that promotes the artistic talents of creative young minds. The main purpose of the company is to sell different types of artworks, and with the profit they help low-income students. All products are sustainable and the company believes in zero waste. They’re also a very socially conscious brand.

The leader. The visionary. The savant.

Anshu Malika Roja Selvamani founded Art For A Cause at the age of 16. She is currently studying in the 12^th grade. She is extraordinarily great in her academics, and has always scored in the nineties. She has a 10.0 GPA. She is a teenager who is extremely ambitious. She is an entrepreneur, social worker, student and ambassador, content creator, author, YouTuber and a lot more.

She started coding when she was 7. That’s where her journey started. When she was 12, she developed her first app. She realized some real world problems can be solved with code. That’s when she built apps on Road Safety and won the Most Innovative Hack from IIT, Hyderabad. That award built some confidence in her that she really did have an exceptional ability to code. Since then, she has built many more apps like an interactive learning app for universal access to education.

At the age of 17, she published her first book “The Flame In My Heart”. She runs two organisations and also a mental health page. Regardless, Art For A Cause is still the most important part of her life. Anshu wanted to start her own company and be a businesswoman since 8th grade. She took after-school business classes to grasp business knowledge. She was good at art, so she thought about starting a social entrepreneurship company with art at its core.

Art For A Cause is registered under the Government of India. Anshu’s parents were very supportive and since she started this company at the age of 16, she needed some help with money handling. She was earning a huge amount from the orders and she didn’t know how to handle it at the beginning but her parents guided her towards the right path.

A spectacular list of accolades!

Anshu is unbelievably well-accomplished. Here are some of her achievements:

• Secretary General of YEFMUN Conference
• President of YEF SDG Conference
• Compiled book shifting perceptions which was featured in regional newspapers.
• Won the Achievement Award 2021 in two categories, for her social work and writing.
• Published two research papers one of which has won merit publication.
• Won international and national Olympiads such as SOF, UIE and Silverzone.
• Founder of community Penning Perceptions.
• Founder of Art For A Cause NGO.
• President of Transforming Lives With Coding
• Won the Applause Award 2021
• Writer of dedicated column world of technology in national magazine tzp
• Novel to be published
• Co-authored 30 books, some of which have achieved a world record.
• Chosen as Head Writer for Inkadhai Magazine.
• Served as National Head of Youth Affairs of YEF NGO.
• Got 3rd rank in the National Science Championship.
• Won Most Innovative Hack in Girls Can Code coding competition from IIT, Hyderabad.
• Have 600+ certificates of advanced courses and skills.
• Won medals for national marathons 
• Ran 10+ marathons in a year some even with 21 km.
• Inspiring Youth Award 2021
• Overachiever of the Year Award 2021
• Born Achiever Award
• Power of One Award
• Child Prodigy Award 2021
• Born Star 2021 Award.
• Leading Entrepreneur Award.
• Rising Mental Health Ambassador Award.

The future shines as bright as her!

Anshu wants to expand her company across the nation. She wants to explore other art forms. She is looking forward to working with and helping more underprivileged or lesser-known artists.

Anshu hopes for more people to know about Art For A Cause, so that their products see a boost in sales. She wants to create mass impact. She wants to proliferate her philanthropic efforts and help more underprivileged children with access to basic education and other necessities.

To know more, visit –
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/artforacauseindia/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/anshumalikarojaselvamanioffcl/

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press, visit – https://www.thebusinesspress.in/category/startup-stories/

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow”~ Ruskin Bond

If you have a garden filled with healthy plants, chirping birds and the sweet fragrance of blossoming flowers, you’re rich beyond measure. Gardening is the closest we can come to experiencing the magic of nature. How incredible it is to witness the growth of a seed that has been lovingly sown and painstakingly looked after!

Like anything worthwhile, gardening requires consistent and dedicated planning and effort over a considerable period of time. Given the fast pace of life in today’s times, many find it difficult to dedicate sufficient time for their beloved garden. Also, the look and feel of new-age gardens has undergone a sea change to include modern, sophisticated designs and equipment.

Launched on 10th August 2019 by Chaithra Ramesh Shetty, Garden Makeup is a promising venture that provides gardening, landscaping and maintenance services. It collaborates with clients to develop the design concept, tailoring their services according to client’s taste, needs and budget.

It all began with a burning desire to do something different

Though Chaithra had worked in IT sector for 4 years, she knew she belonged somewhere else. Undeterred, she began exploring and dabbled in multiple things before discovering the creative opportunities and fresh appeal of gardening services. The artificial green walls and vertical gardens installed in malls, hotels and office spaces intrigued his mind and triggered the imagination. But the complete setup required assistance from multiple vendors for welding work, plants, installing dips etc.

Thus, the budding entrepreneur decided to establish a startup that would provide complete end-to-end quality service starting from design to installation and finally maintenance at affordable prices for both corporate and personal spaces. For Chaithra, the transition to entrepreneurship wasn’t a seamless one. But as they say, behind every successful woman is an encouraging father. Chaithra’s father supported her dream and helped set up the business.

Garden Makeup: Bringing greenery into your life

With change in home and office decor, gardens too have gone through immense transformation over the last decade. Garden Makeup strives to design, define and develop your garden space thereby converting it into an aesthetically pleasing, cleaner and highly sustainable environment to live or work.

The two-year old startup specializes in vertical gardening, terrace/balcony gardening and landscaping. In fact, the vertical garden services start from as low as INR 600 per sqft. Customized plant gifts and artificial green walls are also provided. The team comprises highly skilled and experienced professionals specialized in all forms of hardscaping and soft scaping. Currently the services are spread across Bengaluru.

Cultivating a lush and green future

Green Makeup has been a part of 50+ projects so far and has witnessed consistent growth in customers asking for vertical gardens and customized plant return gifts.

Regarding future plans, Chaithra says “Currently we are operating only in Karnataka (mainly in south karnataka). Would like to see us operating in other cities outside of Karnataka. Have taken up a few interior decoration works. Hoping to do more work related to interior decoration.” With its reasonably-priced service packages, superior quality and client-friendly approach, Green Makeup is crafting a success story that’s as unique as it’s inspiring.

To know more, visit –

Website – http://www.gardenmakeup.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/garden__makeup/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/chaithra__shetty/
Email – info@gardenmakeup.com

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press, visit – https://www.thebusinesspress.in/category/startup-stories/

What makes a successful entrepreneur? Is it experience? Is it knowledge? Or is it unwavering belief in your vision? It is often said that the key to success is to start before you are ready. And it is this can do attitude that helps one achieve their goals. Proving that age is just a number, 17 year old Shabna Shafi began her homemade micro arts venture Zain Artiez with just Rs 50 on Instagram. Cut to 18 months later, she has a following of 13k+ followers and 2000 YouTube subscribers.    

So what exactly inspired this young girl to venture into the uncertain waters of entrepreneurship? “Pure Passion,” she says. “I have always been a collector of craft items. Whenever I find something appealing, I always make it a point to store it even though I have not yet figured a use for it. It is this habit that has given me a keen aesthetic sense which fuels my creativity. One day, when I was visiting my uncle’s home, I saw some handmade butterflies stuck on the wall. I was so enamored by this sight that I rushed home and made those same butterflies myself. The result was so beautiful and captivating that whenever anybody came to my house, they praised the butterflies and even wanted to know where I had purchased it from!”

Creative Duo

Once the creative bug had stung, there was no looking back. Shabna dug out her old collected crafting items, watched several YouTube videos on carving pencil leads and was ready to showcase her creativity to the world. With positive encouragement from her best friend, the two girls began their own Instagram page “Initially it was very tough. As the tools I work with are very tiny and carving pencil leads with such small tools gave me lots of scars and blood. But I kept at it until I created a product I was happy with.” She explains.

The idea was to attach each carved pencil lead to a miniature glass bottle. But due to budget constraints, they could shell out enough for only 1 bottle which cost Rs 50. She then created the product and uploaded it on their combined Instagram page Zain Crafts. To their delight, the bottle sold quickly and they were in business. This continued for a year and Zain Artiez Crafts eventually grew to a page of 3k followers. However, as all good things come to an end, both friends realized that it was difficult for two people to operate one Instagram handle. Their classes had come to an end and it was time for Shabna to spread her wings and take flight.

Zain Artiez: Flying Solo

She started her personal Instagram page by name of Zain Artiez and began her journey as an entrepreneur from scratch, but this time with a clear sense of confidence and vision. Naysayers tried to discourage her and even threw negative vibes, but Shabna was determined. Zain Artiez offers 100% handmade, customized and budget friendly products that are perfect for gifting or personal use. A complete one man show, Shabna is responsible for manufacturing, production, packing, account maintenance, photography, videography, social media handling and the delivery of products.

What began from a small town in Kasaragod is now spread across the globe to countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, London, Canada, Sri Lanka and so on. When asked to give any advice to budding entrepreneurs Shabna quips, “No matter how hard the situation is, Move on. The harder you climb, the better the view is. Someday will be your day. I survived because the fire inside me was brighter than the fire around me.”  

To know more, visit –
Instagram – https://instagram.com/zain_artiez?igshid=itk85g35dczg
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCZXsdRkcBxUmf5UceS_Tg
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/zain.artiez

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press, visit – https://www.thebusinesspress.in/category/startup-stories/