Lenskart Co-founder Peyush Bansal Takes Entrepreneurship Lessons From Jugaadu Kamlesh, a Farmer!

6 mins read

Lenskart Co-founder Peyush Bansal Takes Entrepreneurship Lessons From Jugaadu Kamlesh, a Farmer!

Lenskart founder Peyush Bansal was so impressed with the pitch of a 27-yr-old farmer from Malegaon that he instantly decided to invest 10 Lakhs for 10% equity in his idea. He also gave him INR 20 Lakhs interest-free loan to start his own business. However, the farmer, Jugaadu Kamlesh, hasn’t sold a single product to date.

So, why did Peyush Bansal give Kamlesh the opportunity of a lifetime, even though all the other sharks backed out from his pitch?

Kamlesh creates products for small farmers with low income from objects in the scrapyard. He hails from a village called Tarapada, located 20km away from the town of Malegaon, and mainly works as a farmer. Innovation is his free-time pursuit, but he takes it very seriously!

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What did Peyush Bansal see in Kamlesh?

Peyush Bansal’s LinkedIn post

After the story went viral and won the hearts of people on social media, Peyush Bansal explained why he decided to fund Kamlesh’s start-up KG Agrotech. It becomes clear from the post that Bansal did it because he saw real potential in Kamlesh’s idea. Certainly, it was not a token act of charity towards a poor farmer.

Bansal believes that it can succeed big time and Kamlesh is the right person to lead the business, along with his nephew and close associate Naru. In the post, he wrote ten points on why he thinks Kamlesh’s business can succeed and how he embodies the true spirit of an entrepreneur.

The qualities that Peyush Bansal highlighted in his LinkedIn post apply not just to Kamlesh, but to all entrepreneurs looking for a breakthrough in their business. Assuming that it is only for the special case of Kamlesh would be a big mistake. Anyone who wants to learn a thing or two about what it means to be a real entrepreneur should look up to Kamlesh and his incredible story of success!

The story of Jugaadu Kamlesh

Kamlesh completed his 12th in Science and took admission in BCA, but he could not complete the course, and eventually had to drop out from college. He joined his father on their family farm and started his journey as a full-time farmer. However, his heart was into innovations, and he invested his free time in trying to solve the problems of small farmers who can’t afford expensive farming equipment.

He saw that spraying pesticides is both a cumbersome and hazardous task for farmers. There is the danger of inhaling the sprayed pesticides, while at the same time, a farmer has to carry the 17 liters tank on their backs. So, he came up with the idea of a cart that can be used for spraying pesticides, but farmers need not carry the load on their backs or stay so close that the chemical can harm them.

Kamlesh and his multipurpose cart

A video of the cart went viral on social media in 2017 and people started recognizing the impact it make on the lives of small farmers. He got offers from many businessmen to sell his idea, but he was always determined to start his own business. His journey to find investors for his business finally culminated on the sets of Shark Tank India.

A pitch that won everyone’s heart

If there’s one word that can uniquely capture the USP of Kamlesh’s pitch on Shark Tank India then it is ‘uniqueness’. It ticked all the boxes of a good pitch and even the sharks who backed out recognized the underlying social cause behind Kamlesh’s idea.

Kamlesh believes that he can make the cart for only INR 8000 each, and it can be sold for as much as INR 12,000. To explain the contrast, he said that a pair of bullocks cost a farmer INR 50,000. Being a farmer himself, he knew all about the economic constraints a farmer faces, and his product was designed accordingly.

How Twitteratis celebrated the success of Jugaadu Kamlesh?

Just as the episode was aired, reactions started pouring in for Jugaadu Kamlesh and Peyush Bansal. Everyone seemed to immediately like Kamlesh and his belief in himself. Twitteratis were also full of praise for Peyush Bansal and his wonderful gesture towards a farmer from Malegaon.

You won million hearts @peyushbansal with your out of the box offer to Jugaadu Kamlesh. So many life lessons in just one episode of @sharktankindia @SonyTV Congratulations to you all. https://t.co/EOl2I286kY
— Rakesh Trivedi (@RakeshKTrivedi) January 24, 2022

Firstly, kudos to Jugaadu kamlesh..
You don't need to be an engineer to make stuff like this. @peyushbansal you did the right thing..
If not you, people of India would have did it after watching this episode.#resect #innovation #motivation pic.twitter.com/bbLJBpIas9
— Aditya Phaniram (@AdityaPhaniram) January 20, 2022

Wow @sharktankindia & Kudos to your curation team to have selected a Small Town entrepreneur & his venture on the show. #Malegaon is a place where entrepreneurial seed was sown in me & hence this was even more special to see #JugaaduKamlesh Well Done https://t.co/Ypf9RZGkhj
— Rajesh Joshi (@topgunRJ) January 22, 2022

@peyushbansal Respect++ for you!

Deserve all the success you have sir.

Won millions of heart. 💕#SharkTankIndia #SharkTankIndiaOnSonyTV #PeyushBansal
— Abhinav Bajaj (@Abhinav_Bajaj) January 20, 2022

Summing up…

The story of Jugaadu Kamlesh is awe-inspiring for anyone who dreams big. It shows that success may not come instantly, but if one holds their horses and continues to work diligently, it is sure to arrive at some point. Most importantly, it shows that when one thinks out of the box, there is the potential to be recognized by leading businessmen like Peyush Bansal.

Everyone in India is eagerly waiting to see what new products KG Agrotech will bring into the market. As soon as it drops, it will surely leave a smile on every Indian’s face!

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