BS Mukund started the firm as a two-man enterprise.
After he graduated with an MBA from the prestigious IIM in Calcutta, BS Mukund said the question that plagued him when he moved to Bengaluru, was "You're an IIM graduate, why are you doing a
kabariwala (scrap dealer's) job?"
That was nine years ago, and Mukund, now 33, had a clear sense of what he wanted his start-up to accomplish. "90% of India doesn't have access to computers. So I thought why would we want to take good computers in working condition and strip them apart? Instead, we can refurbish them and give them at affordable prices to Indians."
His firm, ReNewIT, headquartered in Bengaluru, made low-cost computers accessible to students, government schools and NGOs around the country. Soon, cousin Raghav Boggaram, back with an MBA from Manchester, joined the business. Today, they have sold 10,000 computers across the country at an average price of Rs 4500, and are looking at selling more than double that this year.
Quality isn't compromised. "We only source computers from corporates because these are well-maintained assets and they have another 4-5 years left on them. And they (firms) upgrade their computers every 5-6 years once, because they need better technology," said Mukund, explaining that careful hygiene processes are followed to ensure computers are scrubbed of any sensitive data before they're resold.
Mukund started the firm as a two-man enterprise. Today, he has over 10, and service partners in all big cities. "Now, instead of
kabariwalas, they are calling us visionaries for having seen an opportunity when none existed!" they say.