Rajeev Kher - Founder, 3s India

Rajeev, is the founder of 3S - Indias premiere portable sanitation brand and SARA PLAST Pvt.
Ltd. a reputed impact enterprise. A unique manufacturing as well as service oriented approach
to promote better health and hygiene. His mission to provide quality sanitation for un-served
people in India has become a revolutionary concept and has created a phenomenal impact
business model which is present in numerous cities all over India. The much neglected growth
area is now being developed as a concept he has pioneered and now gaining momentum. The
success is inevitable from the organizations growth today. Today the company is amongst the 50
top Social Impact Enterprises in INDIA managing operations at a pan India level positively
improving the lives of many Indians in the BOP and urban context. Also creating innovative
business opportunities and incubation models in this segment.
Winner of various accolades and awards the company stands tall and proud of its achievements
and continuously works towards achieving its goal to provide simplified sanitation solutions to
redefine hygiene in INDIA. Rajeev has attended Clinton Global Initiative twice by invitation
from former President of USA - Mr. Bill Clinton. He was featured in Business Outlook
Independence day special in Aug-Sep 2009 as one of Indias 50 Social Entrepreneurs who are
making a difference to the lives of people in India. Under his leadership the company has also
been felicitated with the INDIA POSITIVE AWARD 2012 by CNN IBN. Considering his
contribution to the portable sanitation industry, Portable Sanitation Association International
(PSAI), USA nominated Rajeev as the 1st Indian/Asian on Board of Directors in 2010-2013.
Academically he is a management graduate from Symbiosis Pune, INDIA. Even during work
trips he takes time out to meet local people and understand their culture to make friends around
the world. He doesnt just talk about work life balance but also implements it in his life and
leadership style. He is a keen sailing enthusiast, avid reader and strong believer in Karma.

Country

India

Sector

Water, sanitation & waste management

Partners

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF); Self-Employed

Womens Association of India (SEWA); Mahila Housing Trust
(MHT)

Low income
focus

Consumers & clients

Revenue model

For Saraplast: Fixed revenues (per toilet per day) from the
organisation that operates the toilets (at present MHT). For MHT:
The end-users pay a monthly or daily fee.

Further
information

www.3sindia.com

Project status

Complete

Key themes

Last mile distribution

3S Shramik
contact

Rajeev Kher, Managing Director

rajeev@3sindia.com

Article posted on Rajeev Kher

A solution for public hygiene 01 Jul 2012 Posted by S. MEERA
Rajeev Khers start-up company, Saraplast, is focused on delivering products that solve the public
hygiene problem in India. For most developing countries, the need to evolve a system for the hygienic
disposal of human waste is paramount. And for us Indians, the problem is all too familiar as even in cities,
several pockets suffer from the lack of proper sanitation facilities. Post his MBA, Rajeev Kher was on an
internship in the U.S. in 1999, when he struck upon the idea to start a venture of his own that would
generate employment and simultaneously serve a social need. He realised that providing sanitation
solutions in India fit the bill, is non-seasonal and at the same time, would generate some revenues.
Even today, it is a small business. Back then, I started with Rs. 5,000 in hand, which I used to
buy two portable toilets, recollects Kher, as he narrates how 3S Shramik (the service brand under
Saraplast Pvt. Ltd.) came into being in Pune. It was as unlikely a business as any other considering his
father was an army man and his mother, a lecturer. However, after the initial surprise wore off, both his
parents were supportive of his aspirations.
There is no glamour in our job and we find people from smaller towns are more open to join us.
They think they can go back and do something for their regions too.On the first job he undertook, Kher
was the only employee and personally took responsibility for the cleaning of the toilet at the wedding site
he installed the toilets in. And even today, it is the cleaning and maintenance services of the portable

toilets that 3S Shramik generates its revenues from. It serves a variety of areas right from event
locations and construction sites to slums and rural areas.

How it works
Typically, the company charges for maintenance, cleaning and repair of the toilets at the
site. It operates a cleaning truck with a service technician to visit the sites. The truck has suction
equipment to evacuate the waste, since the toilets are drain free, and cleans the toilet for further
use, explains Kher. It could be daily or on alternate days, depending on the usage of the toilets
and customer requirements.
In the west, the market is mature and estimated to be a US $7 billion business. In India, it
is yet to be recognised as an industry. But most importantly, there is tremendous need for
education and training, and that is also one of the focus areas of the company.
3S Shramik has offices across seven cities including Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru,
Chennai, Puducherry and in Goa, and is planning to enter cities such as Hyderabad, Lucknow,
Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nasik, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Aurangabad. It also services refineries and has
a few thousand toilets in Paradeep and Puducherry among others.

Bringing in the units

The company started by importing its units from Germany and the U.S. Kher states that these
toilets are of very high quality and comparable to the best in the world. His thinking was, the
better the toilet, the more people will be willing to use it. Having started with only Rs. 5,000, he
had no bank loans or anyone to back him up as his idea did not seem profitable. Yet, one German
company trusted him enough to lend him the unit and take the payment when he was able to
make it.
The growth was slow till 2006 07 when Kher along with his brother Ranjeet and friend Ulka
Sagalkar started manufacturing the toilet units in India and formed the company Saraplast. We
continue to source the raw material from our original supplier, which has now been taken over by
an American company, says Kher. Today, it is a small workshop that manufactures 10,000 parts
per unit.

Witnessing the boom

In 2009, Shramik was funded by Aavishkaar, a social venture fund, to the tune of US $500,000
and since then, its story has changed dramatically. Currently, the companys growth is pegged at
30 per cent, growing from revenues of Rs. 2 3 crore in 2009 to a projected Rs. 12 15 crore
this fiscal.
3S Shramik now employs 200 people and has three levels of workforce top management, the
supervisors and the workers. The supervisory line has been trained to take independent decisions
on daily operations to allow the top management to focus on strategic decisions. The profile of
people includes ex-defence personnel, ACOs (authorised contracting officers) and officer cadres,

young MBAs and graduates from smaller cities. There is no glamour in our job and we find
people from smaller towns are more open to join us. They think they can go back and do
something for their regions too, points out Kher.

Going forward
With 3S Shramik seeing fast-paced growth, Kher is more confident of achieving his vision of
partnering with the government in raising the bar for sanitation in the country. He has been
focusing on creating microenterprises, wherein local people are given these portable units,
provided training and cleaning support on a revenue-sharing basis. We cannot be everywhere,
but this way, we will be able to create opportunities for local people as well as ensure a certain
level of sanitation in slums, places of pilgrimage and locations where large events are held, he
points out.
For the company, construction sites will continue to be the main revenue generators. Working
with non-governmental organisations for pay-and-use toilets will be another area of focus.
Thirdly, like the kirana store, Shramik will create toilets that come with a range of associated
products like soaps, condoms and sanitary napkins.
The company has created 15 to 20 micro-entrepreneurs and services about one lakh people
everyday. By June 2012, many more are expected to become a part of the network.
Kher is a director and the only representative from a developing country of Portable Sanitation
Association in the U.S. He calls it a great learning experience that enables him to design
solutions for Indian needs. He is also working with the municipalities in Maharashtra to redefine
the concept of a clean toilet to bring it to more acceptable levels and hopes to expand his reach.
Revenues will eventually flow but we are keener on seeing a transformation in the hygiene
levels across the country, says Kher. And all his energies are focused on just that.

Concept in brief
While working abroad, Rajeev Kher realised that portable sanitation units would have a huge
demand in India because it was a woefully underserviced segment. He founded Saraplast (with
product brand name 3S Shramik) in Pune and the initial going was tough as this was a business
that hardly attracted investors or jobseekers. But Kher persisted, not flinching even when he had
to personally maintain the toilets that he had installed at a wedding site.
In 2009, Aavishkaars investment gave it a new lease of life. As 3S Shramik ventured into
manufacturing units, revenues have grown at a fast pace and this year, Khers company hopes to
hit the Rs. 12 crore mark. Khers dream though is not just to generate big revenues, but also
create microenterprises and improve the hygiene standards in the country. For this, he is training
local entrepreneurs to hire his toilets and the services on a revenue-sharing basis. He is also
engaging with local governments to implement better hygiene standards in public toilets.
Saraplast (3S Shramik)

Founder: Rajeev Kher

Focus: Portable sanitation units and maintenance services
Investor: Aavishkaar Venture Management Services
Investment: US $500,000

Kiran Bhivgade Crispy Games

Theres nothing wrong in dreaming big and with support from family, then life can be full of fun.
Mumbai based Kiran Bhivgade seems to follow this simple funda to lead her life. An engineering
graduate, Kiran is riding high on her entrepreneurial success Crispy Games. Mobile gaming
company Crispy Games is currently part of the prestigious accelerator programme Startup Chile.
The selected companies stay in Chile for six months for which they receive $40k of equity-free
seed capital, a 1-year work visa, and access to local financial and social networks.
Techgoss caught up with the talented Crispy Games co-founder Kiran Bhivgade, who is currently
in Chile. She talks about her start-up, her experience in Chile and the culture, first time feeling of
going abroad and more. Read more on her dream of making Crispy Games a brand and build
games as popular as Angry Birds.
Inbrief about Kiran Bhivgade
She is graduated from UMIT SNDT in Electronics and Communications Engineering in 2009.
Then she joined SMSGupshup, a Mumbai based start-up, and worked there for six months. At
Gupshup, she experienced the start-up culture first hand and also met many entrepreneurs. Since
then she have been venturing on my own. In addition to Crispy Games, she also started
Chatpatmovies.com, a Bollywood database and review aggregation site, which she continue to
work on even now.
What is Crispy Games all about ?

At Crispy Games there mission is to reach billions of users through their games. They are a
mobile first gaming company and they only create our own titles. They focus on many genres
like Casino, Multiplayer, Social, etc.
She has always loved games. The first game she worked on, with her co-founder, was to actually
learn iPhone development. When that game became a hit in Japan (Number 1 app overall), they
decided to get into it more seriously and started Crispy Games Private Limited.

An interview With Kiran Bhivgade

TG: Your venture made it to prestigious Start-up Chile programme. How did you feel?
Kiran: I was very excited. There was also that first time feeling of going abroad. Strategically, it
was a great thing for the company. We have done well in many international markets and now we
can understand and enter the Spanish market. Not to forget, the $40,000 funding without loosing
any equity is also great.

TG: Tell us about your experience in Chile; and being part of one of the most popular
acceleration programme?
Kiran: Santiago is an amazing city. It's full of culture and the people here are just amazing. Startup Chile is really one of its kind programmes, where they really want entrepreneurs to succeed.
In addition to the money, we have an amazing office and a chance to work together with some of
the best entrepreneurs from all over the world. It's also a very happening place, with parties every
other day. It's fun.
TG: What all Crispy Games is going to do in the six-month startup programme in Chile? How
are you going to leverage this programme? Kindly elaborate.
Kiran: In our first year we launched 10 games on iPhone, two on Facebook and have had over 2
million downloads. In our six-month here, we want to launch 15 new games and add another 2
million users. We also want to expand to Android market. The programme puts us in a unique
position in Chile, where it's easy to attract talent.
We want to fully use the Startup Chile funds and company profits into hiring people. Chile has
some amazing designers and sound artists and we want to leverage that. We have already hired
two designers (one full time, one 70%).
TG: When and how are you planning to target the Indian market, as well as the global markets?
Tell us about Crispy Games' potential customers?

Kiran: We have already started that. Our "Carrom" is one of the top rated and loved "Carrom"
games in India. We are going to make more Indian specific games (like Rummy, Fantasy
Cricket) and also target users in India through our existing games. Most of our existing and new
users come from US and Japan. In next 6 months we will also target Spanish countries (Latin
America, Spain, Mexico) heavily.
We make games for a wide audience. Some of our games like "Air Hockey" are popular among
kids, where adults love our casino games like "Slots" and "Roulette".
TG: What is the initial investment made on this venture? What is Crispy Games' revenue model?
Are you planning to raise funds?
Kiran: We are a bootstrapped company with most of the initial investment coming from our
savings. We have been generating revenue from Day 1, and have had many profitable months.
Our total revenue has been around $60,000 since we started early last year. All our games are
free, but we make money from selling in-app goods and advertising. We plan to raise our first
round in later half of the year.
TG: How it feels to be one of the very few women founders in technology space? Would you like
to share any experience in Chile based on this aspect...like "standing above the male-dominated
entrepreneur crowd or any special treatment at Start-up Chile..."
Kiran: I think the times are changing and people are embracing women in tech. thankfully, my
family has been very supportive and I don't get the daily "Get Married" nag. In Chile, it's quite
different. There are many women founders here, some even solo. However, I am the only one
from India in our generation. The culture here is very different, and I like it. It's kind of
comforting. Here I can just focus on building the company.
TG: What do you expect from your venture in the next five years?
Kiran: In 5 years, I want us to have billions of users and I want us to build some amazing games
that go huge like Angry Birds. I want to build the "Crispy Games" brand. It's also important that
we continue having fun in our team and keep it small.

Kiran Bhivgade: The girl who took the road less travelled!
April 15, 2015

When children of her age were busy playing with dolls and other fancy toys, Kiran Bhivgade,
would hop to a small video game parlour which was across her home and play video games like
Mario Forever, Counter Strike etc. Those were the days when she developed her love for the
video games. Today 28 years old Kiran Bhivgade, successfully makes her living by creating
virtual games. She is the co-founder and director of Crispy Games which is among India's top
mobile gaming companies. You will find several tech entrepreneurs in India, but finding a
woman tech entrepreneur is a difficult task. Kiran is one of them and we are pleased to present
you her story.
Kiran was born and brought up in the rice bowl city of Maharashtra called Bhandara. At the
tender age of 17 after her HSC exams, Kiran decided to leave Bhandara and come to Mumbai in
search of green pastures. She took admission for B.Tech in Electronic Engineering at the SNDT
Juhu Campus. "The transition from Bhandara to Mumbai was smooth as initially I stayed in a
hostel with many other girls like me and then slowly I started exploring and experiencing the
city. My local friends showed me the ropes. Mumbai truly is a city where your dreams come true
but I still miss being in Bhandara", adds Kiran with a tinge of nostalgia in her voice.

Kiran Bhivgade, Co-founder of Crispy Games

The start-up journey of Kiran began in the very first year after her college and then she went on
to develop her first application. "I launched my first iPhone application a few months out of
college. The cash was tight, so I had to take a job and continue learning/building along with it.
Working in a company wasnt for me and I quit my first and last job in just 6 months. And then I
started working full-time on Crispy Games. I was lucky to be surrounded by entrepreneurs who
motivated me and helped me when I got stuck", she recalls.
Quitting a job and starting your own business is still not a well accepted idea. The stakes are
really high. But knowing Kiran a person who takes pride in doing non-conventional stuff, her
decision to go the start-up way did not come as a surprise to her immediate family. She says, "I
have always gone for the non-conventional and more exciting stuff so it wasn't that big a shock
for those who knew me. Though some friends and relatives would be critical, I was lucky to have
many friends in the start-up community who would motivate me". She quickly adds, "my family
has been very supportive and I thank them for not nagging me constantly to get married".
Today Kiran is a successful woman entrepreneur and when we asked her how she feels about it,
she says, "Actually, Ive never given it much thought. I have always been tom-boyish and have
never imagined life like many Indian girls do (marriage, kids, etc.). It sure feels great to be
among few women entrepreneurs and I wish for a day when its not a special thing anymore.
Times sure are changing and I dont think that day is far".
Surely, Kiran had the audacity to follow her passion by taking the road less travelled. Her life
experiences have taught her a lot and she has some bit of advice for other budding entrepreneurs,
especially for women she says, "Entrepreneurship is difficult. The initial starting phase can be
lonely and frustrating. But if you can find that passion inside you for creating something and

doing what you want, its fun. Life is short and not as hard as people tell you it is. So live it
doing what you love and dont follow the path that others set for you".