Shark Tank India Season 3: From Nvidia, HP jobs to establishing startup to kill mosquitoes; how Eco BioTraps founder turns heads

Shark Tank India Season 3: Man has reached Moon, produced artificial intelligence, and manufactured finger-nail-sized microchips that assimilate a wealth of global knowledge despite their miniature size. But the century-old problem lingers around about how to get rid of mosquitoes that spread diseases and kill lakhs of people every year. This is what was on the mind of Mumbai-based Prasad Wadke, who used to work on a hefty package with microchip giant Nvidia in Pune, when he visited a restaurant with his friends. Mosquito bites at the restaurant forced him to wonder whether there could be a way to get rid of mosquitoes. And this is how the idea of his startup, Eco BioTraps, originated.

The startup that he set up with his friend Binal Shah grabbed the limelight when he presented it in an episode of Shark Tank India Season 3.

The idea generated a good level of curiosity among judges who noticed that the startup was working on the root cause of mosquito menace rather than working on temporary methods such as producing repellents that put off mosquitoes temporarily.

As a startup, the most challenging task is to prove the worth of your product and make people believe that it is a mass product. 

Eco BioTraps chose Asia's largest slum, Dharavi, in Mumbai, to prove the potential of its product.

The startup claims to have get rid of the mosquito problem in Dharavi for quite some time. Read the story of the startup that aims to make places mosquito-free.

Shark Tank India Season 3: What does Eco BioTraps manufacture?

The startup works on a strategy that lays emphasis on the philosophy that rather than fighting a problem that becomes huge, handle it before it originates.

It produces pots, which attract female mosquitoes to lay eggs.

The pots are kept in indoor places to provide an ideal breeding atmosphere for female mosquitoes, who avoid laying eggs in the sun.

The pot is filled with water and has a hole, from which water drains drop by drop.

When the entire water is drained out, mosquito eggs get damaged.

Shark Tank India Season 3: Why didn't Eco BioTraps produce mosquito repellants?

The 44-year-old founder and CEO Prasad says that in his research, he found that repellants kill or ward off mosquitoes in small quantities compared to mosquito production, which increases by 500–1000 times in one go.

He thought it was better to work on the root cause rather than handle the problem in bits and pieces.  

Shark Tank India Season 3: Let's understand it more precisely?

Only female mosquitoes bite. Their lifespan is 15–30 days, and one female mosquito can lay 500–1000 eggs at a time.

It takes 4–7 days for a mosquito to develop from an egg to an adult.

In this way, 500–1000 mosquitoes are produced from one mosquito in one go.

The problem starts when these mosquitoes turn into adults, bite humans, and infect them with viruses.

Female mosquitoes need protein for reproduction.

To fulfil this need, it sucks the blood of humans or animals.

A mosquito can suck blood 2-3 times, then goes to nearby water and reproduces.

Dengue mosquitoes are more active, as they bite 5–18 people at a time.

A dengue mosquito does not lay eggs in one place; it lays a few eggs in many places.

While a common mosquito can fly up to 1 kilometre, a dengue mosquito can fly only up to 100–200 metres.

Eco BioTraps claims that if its product is used continuously in an area, dengue mosquitoes can be eliminated within a radius of about 200 metres in 3-6 months.

Prasad claims that he has already made this possible in Dharavi, Mumbai, where BMC and Incubator with Smile are trying to make the slum area mosquito-free.

Eco BioTraps also has onboard scientist Sushanta Kumar Ghosh, who invented Guppy and Gambusia fish that eat mosquito eggs.
 

Shark Tank India Season 3: How does Eco BioTraps' product work?

The pot is made of egg tray material.

It has a hole on the top to fill with water.

There are two sachets in every pot that are to be dissolved in water.

One sachet attracts mosquitoes, while the other destroys their eggs.

The startup claims that one pot covers an area of about 400 square feet and lasts for 30 days. After 30 days, the user has to change the pot.

The current price of every pot is between Rs 450-500.

But entrepreneurs know that you need to produce cheaper options in the price-competitive Indian market.

That's why they want to keep its prices within the range of Rs 100.

There is a catch: rather than using the egg tray material, they use a plastic pot to make their product long lasting.

Prasad says that it is necessary to change the sachet every 30 days.

If, by mistake, one forgets to change the water in the pot or changes its sachet, then the same pot that was protecting you from mosquitoes starts increasing rapidly.

In such a situation, even the government will not approve that product. Since water evaporates in an egg material tray, there is no fear of water accumulation. 

Shark Tank India Season 3: Is Eco BioTraps making money?

Right now, all the business of the company is B2B, but it also wants to focus on B2C.

The company's income comes from the sale of products.

It is not going on the subscription model but wants to be considered in the coming time.

Prasad says the turnover of the company was around Rs 1.25 crore, which is expected to be Rs 10 crore this year.

The company is registered in Ahmedabad, and the manufacturing plant is in Pune.

Shark Tank India Season 3: Funding and future

So far, Eco BioTraps has raised funding of Rs 1.25 crore.

The funding round took place in June 2022 at a valuation of Rs 15 crore.

The startup has not received any grant from the government, but some companies have helped through CSR.

Besides, a lot of help is also being received from BMC.

In the coming days, the company wants to expand its products to seven other countries, including Malaysia, Nepal, and Zambia. 

Shark Tank India Season 3: Prasad's business journey

Prasad used to often go with his uncle on a scooter to visit his natural stone business.

After completing his diploma at the age of 18, he along with a friend, started a commission-based sales job.

He used to sell detergent, shirts, etc., from door to door and earn money from commissions.

After doing this work for some time, he started his corporate career.

He pursued a mechanical journey and never looked back.

He worked at Nvidia for about 15 years, where he became the best employee in the India marketing section.

Prasad says that Nvidia's current CEO, Jensen Wong, is also his mentor, who has taught him a lot.

After leaving Nvidia as head of Workstation Business, South Asia. After that, he worked as a country category manager at Workspace, HP, and then as a country manager, marketing, India and Saarc, Autodesk.

He says he has had high-paying jobs for a long, and he used to pay income tax of more than Rs 1 crore.