At simply 35, Nivedita Venkateish, founder and CEO of Aire, had the “ideal resume.” She holds an MBA from Columbia Enterprise Faculty, an undergraduate diploma from Singapore Administration College (SMU), and has labored for greater than a decade in a number of client brand and tech MNCs, together with Diageo and Kraft Heinz.
Nivedita, also referred to as Niv, finally joined Meta for just a few months earlier than getting laid off through the tech winter on the finish of 2022. She then took a leap of religion to launch Aire in 2023, creating and promoting adult diapers or pampers.
Nonetheless, going from working in Meta to beginning your personal enterprise appeared like a giant leap. What led to that change?
Her grandmother’s expertise led her to start out Aire
At this level, we now have seen our fair proportion of tales the place one switches profession paths after getting laid off, however for Niv, it began from her shut relationship along with her paternal grandmother.
Seeing her grandmother age up shut, she seen how she suffers from adult incontinence—the situation that refers back to the involuntary leakage of urine.
Incontinence is difficult to handle each for the affected person and their major caregivers. In Niv’s case, her grandmother refused to put on incontinence merchandise for the longest time, describing them as “childish, embarrassing, and uncomfortable”.
For 93-year-old Anasuya, the diapers and pampers usually bunch up and really feel tough in opposition to her pores and skin, which is a nightmare given Singapore’s scorching and humid climate.
Nonetheless, it was not till her grandmother grew to become bedridden for months after experiencing a devastating fall when she was identified with COVID-19, that she needed to put on adult pampers.
Pushed to assist her grandmother and others like her, Niv began Aire.
My previous experiences at client manufacturers like Diageo and KraftHeinz confirmed me the quantity of thought that goes into designing merchandise and types, however a lot of the main focus is on millennial and Gen Z prospects—why don’t we make investments the identical love and a focus in manufacturers for older adults?
1 out of 4 in Singapore can be over the age of 65 by 2030, and seniors should not with out opinions—they’ve extra to their persona than being over a selected age—likes, dislikes, and extra, and so they deserve higher.
Nivedita Venkateish, 35, founder and CEO of Aire
Operating the enterprise alone was “frustrating and lonely”
Earlier than beginning Aire, Niv spent months interacting with individuals affected by incontinence and their caregivers to know their ache factors higher and stored them in thoughts through the firm’s R&D stage.
Nonetheless, the early days of Aire weren’t as easy crusing for Niv. She defined that she was questioned by friends and buyers round her on her determination and acknowledged the stigma of adult incontinence.
Since she initially ran the enterprise independently, it was a “frustrating and lonely experience” for Niv. Nonetheless, her prospects helped her overcome her self-doubt, and their significant suggestions allowed the enterprise to progress additional.
“Spending time with older adults has been a way for me to reinvigorate myself—their curiosity, kindness, and quirkiness really energises me,” she cheerfully quipped.
Niv invested a six-figure sum, which she forked out of her financial savings from her earlier jobs and the severance pay obtained from Meta, to launch Aire below SMU’s Enterprise Improvements Generator (BIG).
Coming into the patron packaged items (CPG) enterprise requires substantial capital, and regardless of the dangers, Niv determined to launch Aire fully bootstrapped.
“My thinking was—I needed to prove our product-market fit to myself before bringing on any external investors,” she defined, including that fundraising could possibly be very time-consuming and that she wished to deal with interacting along with her prospects and dealing on operations as a lot as she may on her personal.
Destigmatising adult incontinence
With restricted capital, Aire launched its merchandise on its web site and on-line marketplaces as its “proof of concept”, which turned out to be the suitable transfer because the enterprise gained traction on-line, permitting it to work with grassroots and non-profit organisations.
“The goal is not to just sell our products, but actually break down barriers when it comes to talking about incontinence and understanding ways—be that through exercise or diet—that you can actually manage it better,” defined Niv.
She added that incontinence is an under-reported situation, one which has profound impacts on one’s high quality of life and probably drives households aside, and he or she has since made it her mission to “break these barriers” by way of these occasions.
Aire additionally raised S$500,000 in seed funding in March, permitting the corporate to evolve from a one-woman present to a lean staff and enter the brand into the brick-and-mortar house.
In accordance with Niv, the corporate has now bought lots of of hundreds of their merchandise in Singapore, and it’s presently bought at supermarkets and healthcare shops, together with chosen Fairprice retailers and, most just lately, the Nationwide Healthcare group’s e-pharmacy.
Adopting an omnichannel strategy has benefits, however it’s not with out challenges. Firms can adapt their enterprise methods shortly by inspecting buyer opinions and day by day gross sales stories, however that very same information can’t be retrieved from retail shops.
As such, Niv and her staff made a acutely aware effort to go to the outlets two to a few instances weekly, which permits them to collect buyer suggestions and preserve brand visibility. Whereas it might sound that Aire is about to achieve its peak, to Niv, the corporate is merely scratching the floor.
Trying ahead, Niv plans to develop their presence in Singapore and is engaged on releasing new adult incontinence merchandise. Along with supermarkets, the corporate has made its debut at Watsons and can maintain its eye on different native impartial pharmacies and healthcare shops.
Be taught extra about Aire right here.
Learn extra tales we now have written about Singapore startups right here.
Featured Picture Credit score: Aire
