“My childhood was quite turbulent and with my mother’s passing away when I was barely 8, I found myself shattered and emotionally deprived. I didn’t have her nurturing arm around me at that tender age. I lost her when the foundation of my life was being laid. It changed the entire course of my path. The deprivation of motherly love in fact, dictated me to choose the path of being financially stable and emotionally independent.
While at IIT Madras, I learned how to handle life. That place taught me various leadership qualities as we were exposed to a lot of sociological activities. We were made to understand our responsibilities as individuals. Once I stepped out of IIT, my sense of insecurity gradually started to fade away. That was the time when I started to list out what I really wanted to do on from there on. I have been to 22 countries so far. Traveling for me was never just taking pictures but a lot more. The amount of knowledge I gained through traveling will always be there with me, let it be the language of that particular country or the warmth of the people. Although I held a nanotechnology degree in my hand, I chose to explore myriad of other fields across the globe.
Starting an organization is like birthing a baby. With a lot of tender love and care, we have to nurture, for it to grow. I never dreamt that I would one day wear the entrepreneur cap.
The journey as an entrepreneur began after my return to India. As I lived in different countries for a longer period of time, my skin couldn’t acclimatize to India’s tropical weather again. Sunscreens were not part of my vanity for a long time. The harsh sunrays, dust and pollution damaged my skin. I started digging deep into the root cause of the problem. After my research on why Indians go through skin damage, I came up with a solution. I see a lot of men and women cover their faces with dupatta or kerchief while driving during the day. I used the very idea to come up with a complete headgear that could eliminate the chances of dust particles touching the surface of the face or sun rays damaging the skin.
I had the funds but I was not certain if it was ideal to go ahead with the seed of thought. After a rejuvenating break, I had decided to germinate the seed and help it grow. I started the company to manufacture headgears for both men and women. I named it Dibbu solutions because my mom used to address me as Dibbu. I felt like she was around me when I chose that name.
Our brand HECOLL stands for ‘Head Cover for All’. It is a brand that aims to transform how individuals across the globe view the term ‘safety.’
At HECOLL, we use chemistry and nano technology to manufacture various products. The uniqueness of our fabric is, we add a bodyguard molecule to the regular cotton molecule, which is generally weak on its own.
This bodyguard molecule will reflect the UV rays and kill the virus and bacteria. The cloth will stop the harmful bacteria from entering the skin. It has been quite a journey. Our fabric failed multiple times when it was sent to the universities for testing. I fell into the self-doubt pit. I started doubting my initiative. Our first success was after 8 months of thorough research, when Bombay Textile Research Association certified that our cloth can shield 99 percent UV rays.
Till the month of March 2020, we only focused on headgears, handkerchief, pouch, baby wraps and bags. Masks and school uniforms were never on our radar. With soaring Covid-19 cases in India, we got a call from a biotechnology firm that wanted us to manufacture masks and uniforms with our proprietary fabric. That is how we started producing anti viral masks and uniforms. Our first order was for the United Nations, and then we manufactured masks for the Indian Railways, Ministry of Mines, and JNTU. The silver lining is, had it not been for the masks, we wouldn’t have ventured into our production phase sooner.
As an entrepreneur and a woman who has had it the hard way, I can surely say, it is always okay to ask for help. It is okay to fail. It is okay to fall. But it is not okay to not rise and fight back.”
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