Bayleef was my first real attempt at starting up in the real world, a world outside of college. This was the time when I realized the jump from being in a place where I pay to people do things for me to where I do things to get paid.

My first-ever apartment had one of the most gorgeous balcony ever. It was opposite to a small lake, and birds were plenty. I spent a lot of time on the balcony, and that was the first place I used to take all my guests to. “See the lake over there! See all the birds over here! You can see the sunrise here!!!”.

I decided to get plants for the balcony. When you see such a beautiful place, you want to do your bit to add to the beauty. Also, I was still a bachelor, I knew I was in no way responsible enough to take care of anything other than plants. So I decided to get a plant that could almost survive by itself and help me in other ways too. I chose Aloe Vera because I figured, I could always use it for skin care.

I had rented a bike then, but buying a plant and getting it back myself on a bike would be super hard. I could have ordered online, but was skeptical about the quality and the price. I could have got on an auto, but I just couldn’t myself to pay Rs. 300 to buy something that cost Rs. 150. The very simple act of buying a plant kept being pushed and pushed and pushed. Until my friend, Arjun, decided to help me out. Even then, bringing out the plant on the bike was an uncomfortable and muddy affair.

But Phew, the job was done.

And we went on a couple more trips to get a few other plants. Our balcony looked even better, and there were even a few birds that popped by occasionally.

Startup idea

By that time, I was sure that I wanted to build a company. I at the very least had to do a project. I was just hunting for things to do, and I realized well, maybe I could sell plants.

I created a logo with the help of my friend, Adhiyamaan, and these posters, printed them and gave them to the local newspaper guy to distribute for 3 days with the newspapers.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Results

Disastrous. I got zero calls on the first day. I got zero calls on the second day. I got one call on the third day, where I gave off the succulent for free.

Learnings

1. The worst thing that can happen is not negative feedback, but no feedback.

2. The feeling of rejection is so intense, that I will feel it physically.

3. I should always talk to users first because building a company isn’t about me, but the users.

It took me a week of not coming out of my room and a lot of binge-watching to finally come out of the intense rejection.

Looking back at it, I spent close to Rs.10,000/- on the posters. Instead, I could have bought 50 plants, set up a kiosk, hired a guy, sold the plants for a 50% discount, earned some of the money back, and spoken to 100+ potential customers.

Another point would have been to focus on a problem that plants could solve. Yes, they do their bit to aesthetically enhance the place, and we feel closer to the real world. But what about the improved indoor air quality? We spend close to 21 hours every day in an indoor environment. Plants can significantly improve the quality of the air we breathe. It could help us regulate temperature. It could help us regulate the humidity.

Maybe even provide a way for people in Chennai to live without an AC in the summer.

What would I have done differently?

I would have created an Instagram profile called Bayleef. Put out photos, posts, and research articles on how plants can improve our buildings’ aesthetics, help maintain indoor air quality, and regulate temperature and humidity.

I would have proceeded to talk to environmental experts, landscapers, and architects on these topics.

If there’s good traction, I would have proceeded to talk to the followers on the page, creating unique personas.

Doing this would allow me to guesstimate the problems the personas have, their needs, what kind of product would have suited them, and guesstimate the market size and the market opportunity of this area.

I hopefully could have found a co-founder by building in public and taking the idea forward.

If this didn’t work out, and all I had was an account with a good following, I would have proceeded to see if I could have earned money solely from the content.

If not for this, I would have taken the experience and called it quits.