Angirus - lightweight and waterproof building products made from 100% recycled waste materials
- by: Jatin Chaudhary
Angirus is a circular economy start-up that makes Lightweight and damp proof bricks using recycled waste material that reduces the brickwork cost by up to 20% for green building and sustainable construction practices.
Here's the excerpts from eChai with Kunjpreet Arora, Co-Founder, Angirus.
About Angirus team
We are two co-founders, Lokesh Puri Goswami and me (Kunjpreet Arora). First-generation entrepreneurs.
Lokesh has two years of experience as a project management consultant in the construction industry and looks after product development.
I come from a construction business background, selected for an entrepreneurship program at IIM Udaipur, Start-up nexus at U.S. embassy and IB start-up school. I look after business development and growth strategy.
Currently, we are a small but passionate and creative team of engineers and designers with varied expertise in Technology, operations and business.
Eureka Moment
Our eureka moment was when we identified an opportunity and pain-point in the brick industry that can be solved with our theoretical (earlier) solutions that we were working on.
The brick industry is one of the largest and yet stagnated industries, globally and second-largest of India.
With the increase in development and urbanization, it has an annual growth rate of 11%. Not many innovations have happened and have remained untapped for many years. It is also one of the oldest industries where traditional methods are still followed, and therefore there is also quite an entry barrier.
But if executed correctly, it can cover a lot of ground.
How Angirus works?
It works like any other product/brick in the market with the same construction methods/practices.
It all needs the same mason and binding mortar in the market. But what you don’t need is to soak these bricks into the water for the next 24 hours, and that’s the specialty of Wricks that it doesn’t require soaking or drying in the atmosphere.
Hence saving millions of tons of water and our precious time.
USP
The USP of these bricks are:
1. It is 1 Kg lighter in weight, around 30% compared to traditional clay bricks,
2. It absorbs 80% less water, protecting the walls from dampness and wall crust issues, and
3. Unlike other bricks, making a market-ready product takes just one day without any seasonal dependency, which otherwise requires 5 to 14 days.
But I feel the most important USP is that it is made from recycled waste material, saving our precious resources like fertile soil, water, coal, and other biomass fuel.
What is your business model?
We are into B2B business model. Will be selling Wricks directly to builders and contractors through our distribution channel and acquiring them through our own network and references, event participation, and online marketing channels.
After gaining trust and creating a customer base, we plan to set up small to medium-size units by Franchising the technology to brick Manufacturers to meet the Local Demand. This will not only save transportation costs but also help in reducing the carbon footprint of the product and creating micro-entrepreneurs.
Our Start-up will help these Brick Manufacturers Procure Raw materials from Local governing bodies and Industries near their local area. Each Brick manufacturer at least will buy one manufacturing Unit under the name of Wricks” Brand.
Target audience
Our target audiences are large-scale builders and contractors working on green buildings and sustainable infrastructure development across the country.
We provide high-quality and eco-friendly building materials at competitive pricing.
Traction
So far, we have achieved all the preliminary parameters according to the Indian standard code and got it tested via a third-party laboratory.
We are now at the pilot stage with 5000+ pre-orders from builders and architects, onboarded suppliers and industrialists for raw material supplies and secured seed funding for pre-launch.
Soon you’ll be seeing Wricks into the market.
Looking for Entrepreneurial Talent
We don’t have a lengthy selection list as an early-stage cleantech start-up.
Still, definitely looks for people keen to learn, passionate about innovative solutions, sustainability or the construction industry, and most importantly, a problem solver.
We always welcome new, creative and crazy ideas because we believe any idea can be turned into a solution.
As for the skillsets, currently, we are mainly looking for marketing, communication, and teamwork skills.
CoRising with the community
We at Angirus, always open to work with stakeholders, the community and organizations.
We can provide business opportunities in the waste management domain and construction industry and even work as a partner in the sector and expand into other geographical locations.
We can also help start-ups in climate change or cleantech sectors connect with institutional investors, incubators and mentors.
Community Support
We are looking for networking and connecting with others founders, entrepreneurs, and mentors for sharing and learning from their experiences.
We are also looking for support in spreading the word about Wricks in the market or to the stakeholders if someone knows someone from the industry and can be relevant.
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