Bangalore-based Daily Dump has set itself a tough task. It wants to bring about far-reaching social change gently. The company offers services and solutions to convert household waste into high-quality compost, defined as a bio-degradable, nutrient-rich material that enriches soil. The idea is attractive. Will it be commercially viable and sustainable over time? At this stage, even founder Poonam Bir Kasturi doesn’t know and primarily because the barriers, mostly social and cultural in nature, are still so high. Daily Dump was one of the finalists at the recently concluded Tata-NEN Hottest Startups awards. Kasturi, an industrial designer by training, talks about her three-year old startup and what lies ahead. Edited excerpts from the email interview:
Do you see Daily Dump as a social enterprise or a commercially viable and sustainable business venture?
Both. The world of business in the future can no longer ignore the fact that we need to be accountable on the social and ecological dimensions too. All businesses will have to factor in the ecological aspect.
What were the motivations of Daily Dump’s starting team?
Just the fact that it was an idea worth the time and effort to grow.
How much money went into seeding the company? Where did it come from?
We started with Rs 6 lakh. I have used my savings and earnings to start the company and invest in research and development.
How much has been invested till date?
Over the last three years I have invested around Rs 22 lakh.
How do you make money?
By selling the products and service plans. (The composter, which is the main product, is made of terracotta and comes in various sizes according to needs. It can cost between Rs 500-1,200 depending on the accessories that the customer chooses. The service plans imply weekly, fortnightly or monthly support services provided by the company, usually for a six-month period. Information on pricing is not available).
How many users have you converted to composting since you started up? What is your typical go-to-market pitch?
We have around 3,000 users in Bangalore. Out typical pitch is: you can make a difference, don’t wait for the government, do your bit. We convince our customers to use our product by asking them to see the demonstration set up at our retail outlet…seeing is believing.
Your website lists a number of expansion plans. How developed are these plans? What kind of challenges do you foresee?
We have working prototypes for mechanical and other composters (The company wants to take mechanical composters to large apartment complexes, restaurants, etc). We still have to make the first trial batch of 20 each to deploy in different places. Persuading builders is going to be our biggest challenge…especially in these times of recession.
Do you plan to raise venture or institutional funding at this stage?
Not really sure of this right now.
What about expanding to other cities?
We already have clones in five cities. That is the way we want t grow, through the clone mechanism.
Can you elaborate on the clone mechanism?
Clones are interested people who want to sell composters and the idea of composting. They get the knowledge and designs free from us and begin their enterprise. They don’t need to reinvent the wheel and thus they can make more money is a shorter timeframe than we can. The franchisee model works well in some cases, but in composting I am not so sure, so I am experimenting. I believe that distributed ownership without any legal payback obligations may spawn a richer way of looking at the work. My interest is to try and change behaviour. Creating a large, centralized business is not a priority. So when you set such a goal then you view the traditional ideas of competition, market share, wealth, etc. through new lenses. What do I have to lose? If I fail, they will say, ha! these non-management types don’t know how to read a balance sheet. But if composting becomes a national habit, without one large business house but lots of micro enterprises, Daily Dump’s purpose is well served.
So what are the 3-4 big challenges to achieving this end?
First, there is really no perceived value in this area. Monetising it and turning it into a business is a real issue. The finished compost fetches only Rs 2 per kilo in the market. Second, the cultural mindset is pitted against it from the start. Third, the decentralized model (clones) is scoffed at. Businesses prefer large dams, large buildings and mega projects. We have forgotten Gandhi’s lessons.
Have the pressures changed from the initial startup days?
Actually, since I was working at the time of setting up this project, I paced my involvement to suit my regular work. Therefore there was really no pressure at the time. Now there is pressure to ensure that the business makes enough profits and is able to support all its development needs and operating costs…I have no other source of income anymore!
It can’t be easy to attract people (staff) to such a venture. How do you manage? Is attrition high?
We cannot afford people who need to be paid a lot. So we pay our lowest level of staff very well and get them to take a large chunk of the responsibility. We then compensate with flexi-time for specialists. This works out for everyone. Also this keeps our overheads to the minimum. Daily Dump still cannot afford to pay me a salary! Attrition, fortunately, is not an issue since we operate on flexi-time.
Photo Courtesy: Daily Dump
