An Under grad's Successful startup Idea- Generic Aadhaar
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On the occasion of ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’ celebrated on 7th March every year, what can be better than the story of the youngest startup founder in India whose mission is to make available life saving drugs at affordable prices to the masses.
Sometime back, a photo of Shri Ratan Tata, former chairman of Tata Sons with a young college going boy was published in several newspapers. The boy was Arjun Deshpande, an 18-year-old from Thane. This is Arjun's story.
Generic Aadhaar was foundedwith a mission to make life saving drugs available to general public at affordable prices. This startup has dented the conventional pharmaceutical industry by supplying generic medicines to single shop pharmacies at manufacturing costs, thereby passing on the benefits of lower prices to the consumers. It has helped in reducing the medicine prices by nearly 80% of the costs of branded medicines. Generic Aadhaar sells generic drugs directly from WHO certified manufacturers to its franchisee chemists.
Sometime back, a photo of Shri Ratan Tata, former chairman of Tata Sons with a young college going boy was published in several newspapers. The boy was Arjun Deshpande, an 18-year-old from Thane. This is Arjun's story.
At the school going age of sixteen years, when most of his friends were busy selecting education streams after 10th standard, he started his own startup called 'Generic Aadhaar'.
Generic Aadhaar was foundedwith a mission to make life saving drugs available to general public at affordable prices. This startup has dented the conventional pharmaceutical industry by supplying generic medicines to single shop pharmacies at manufacturing costs, thereby passing on the benefits of lower prices to the consumers. It has helped in reducing the medicine prices by nearly 80% of the costs of branded medicines. Generic Aadhaar sells generic drugs directly from WHO certified manufacturers to its franchisee chemists.
Despite the government's efforts to keep the prices of essential medicines at a reasonable level through DPCO (Drug Price Control Order), about 80% of the medicines sold in India are out of price control. As a result, statistics show that nearly 60% of the population are not able to afford medicines sold in pharmacies.
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With focus on affordability and availability, Arjun’s startup has achieved annual revenues of Rs 6 crores. It aims to reach a figure of Rs 200 crore in the next three years. So far, 30 drug retailers in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Odisha have become part of the Generic Aadhaar chain. It plans to expand its business to 1000 pharmacies soon on a franchise-based model to states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Delhi.
With focus on affordability and availability, Arjun’s startup has achieved annual revenues of Rs 6 crores. It aims to reach a figure of Rs 200 crore in the next three years. So far, 30 drug retailers in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Odisha have become part of the Generic Aadhaar chain. It plans to expand its business to 1000 pharmacies soon on a franchise-based model to states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Delhi.
When an accomplished businessman like Ratan Tata extends his support to your company, there leaves no room for doubt that you have a bright and right business idea.
Using one's observation and entrepreneurial skills to find the right need gap in the market is the first step to building a successful business. Arjun has successfully created a niche for himself by figuring out the right need gap in the market. His startup definitely has a very bright future.