Indian Innovators is a forum where we salute those who made a difference with their thought, foresight and vision. We have four people with us each of whom dared to think differently. They gave up the security of the conventional path to success and yet managed to make it big. There would be no better opportunity to interact with minds that stand apart from the crowd, men and women who put their hands up and say - "I do dare disturb the universe." From recycling plastic to getting an IIM degree to sell fruits differently - Indian Innovators showcases a wide variety of talent, talent that is sure to inspire all of us and add a new dimension to our lives. Rarely does one find such a forum so do not miss the chance to be there and witness it live.

      At an age when young girls would only dream of shopping for fancy shoes, Vinnie Chadha was thinking up ways to clean them. “Whenever I saw dirty footwear, I would be gripped by a desire to scrub them,” says the 25-year-old. The fetish for footwear cleanliness made the management graduate from Bombay University start Reboot, a laundry for all kinds of footwear, belts, bags and handbags in Mumbai a few years ago. Her idea of a shoe laundry is unique and innovative. She says, "If you can have a laundry for clothes than why not shoes? I think my idea will bring about a revolution in the whole footwear industry – in the way shoes are sold, purchased and maintained! So my idea is very practical and at the same time different, that’s why it has an edge over other ideas."

     It may come as a shock to many that after topping the elite Indian Institute of Management (IIM), he opted to sell vegetables on the rough streets of this city. But then Kaushalendra is a man on a mission. Kaushalendra, who is in his late 20s, is an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate of the 2007 batch. I have opted to make vegetables the new brand of Bihar,” says Kaushalendra. After passing out of IIM-A, he did extensive fieldwork, meeting farmers, studying cultivation techniques and finally taking a bank loan of Rs.4 million to start the project. Unlike other vegetable vendors, he is minutely studying consumer behaviour as he goes along. His pushcart is made of fibre with an attached weighing machine, is ice cooled to keep vegetables fresh for up to five days, and sold under the brand name of ‘Samridhi’. He plans to take Samridhi, launched by his NGO Kaushalya Foundation, across the country and abroad within five years. His vegetables are priced slightly lower than those sold by other vendors. A perfect example of a man living his dream, Kaushalendra is an example for many to emulate.

Rohit Nalwade is the Founder of Keeptrak Research Labs - a research focussed tracking technology innovations company.  Prior to Keeptrak Rohit Founded Consumer Vision Technologies a retail technology company incubated by the IIT Bombay Business incubator.  Rohit has been an entrepreneur for about 10 years. He was listed by BusinessWeek Magazine as one of top 25 young entrepreneurs in Asia and one of top 5 in India in the year 2007. Rohit led the winning team of Eureka! 2005: The Annual International Business Plan Competition of IIT Bombay. He also received the NEN Annual Achievement Award '05. Rohit is scheduled to speak at the St. Gallen Symposium in Switzerland this May as one of the 100 selected Leaders of Tomorrow.

Akshat Khare completed his B.Tech in Electrical from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and M.Tech in Micoelectronics from the same institute as the topper of his department of dual degree micoelectronics. He then moved on to management and did his MBA (PGDM) from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Since graduation, he has been working as an entrepreneur in the solar and LED industry before joining Pegasus Semiconductor as a joint promoter. Akshat has keen interest in environment related issues. He has been working with several NGOs for the installation of the solar home lighting systems in the inner districts of Gujarat and Rajasthan in order to add a few useful kindled hours to the villagers. He has won the Sankalpa award for the Best Start up. “My gamble paid off. The problem is more acute today,” he says. Pegasus has done about 1,200 installations in Barmer, Rajasthan and about 35 with companies such as Zydus Cadilla and other government bodies and is expecting to reach a revenue of Rs 3 crore by the end of the fiscal.

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