Meet three class 10 students who just raised 3 crore for their beverage startup

Three class X students Chetanya Golechha, Mrigank Gujjar and Utsav Jain hailing from Rajasthan, have recently received Rs 3 crore funding for their start-up called 'Infusion Beverages'.

At an age when they should be reading school textbooks, the trio is busy reading UG and PG books on management to learn the nuances of market. Their startup makes preservative-less flavoured water without sugar and soda.

All three founders hail from Neerja Modi School in Jaipur. They participated in an entrepreneurship fest of their school in April last year. "Our presentation of the product failed to impress the judges in the fest. We were kicked out in the first round. Though we were out of the competition in the first hour, but got the order of delivering 150 flavoured water bottles," said Golechha.

The students had done most of their research on Google before seeking their parents' permission to go ahead with the plan.

"We carried out intense research on Google to prepare a healthy drink without sugar and soda. But soon we realized that turning an idea into reality is not easy when you are a minor," Gujjar.

The students also faced legal hurdles as documents are needed to begin a start up and as kids they did not have any.

"Procuring the licence, necessary permissions from the food department and approval from FSSAI, are a herculean task. As we were minors our parents sought the permission on our behalf," Gujjar said.

In a bid to refine their idea, they took part in the entrepreneurship competitions at IIT-Kanpur and IIM-Indore, only to garner wide appreciation. Soon, Malviya National Institute of Technology decided to incubate their idea. They also helped the students in applying for patent, which is in advanced stage.

By January, the trio had sold 8,000 bottles of flavoured water-kewra, rose and bel flavours through business to business mode.

It's also no surprise that an investor from Indore asked them for a meeting, and the result was the trio was able to raise Rs 3 crore funding.