From Taking Part In Competitions To Becoming Entrepreneurs In High School; Meet Divya Sijwali & Parth Puri

Delhi-based duo Divya Sijwali and Parth Puri are superstars at 17. While most high school students are confused and trying to find out what to do in life, the duo has successfully founded a company that sells footwear made from a unique material - discarded tyres.

Their company - Tyron, was established in 2021 and they use the rubber from the tyres to make their footwear as it helps to cut down costs of production and promotes sustainability. As high school students, their venture is not only showing potential to make money but also proving to be a meaningful step towards preserving our environment.

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As of now, Tyron is completely bootstrapped, but the bulk of the funds for the company have been raised by participating in various competitions. "Parth and I keep looking for opportunities, and we applied almost everywhere", Divya said. Divya and Parth's story proves that competitions have become a great way to get a business venture rolling, especially at the early stages.

The Business Model

Before looking further into the competitions that helped the duo reach the big stage, let's take a look at their business model. For Tyron, the primary process in the manufacturing of footwear is upcycling.

It starts with Divya and Parth visiting the dump yard, particularly one in Ghaziabad, where used tyres can be collected at low prices. In the next step, they cut the tyre in the dump yard, extract the wires and spikes that have stuck to it, and take out the specific parts from the tyre that can be turned into footwear.

"I remember complaining to Parth over phone one day that while there are many shoe and slipper options for special occasions, there is not much idea for home wear," Sijwali recalled in an interview with The Better India. As a result, the idea behind Tyron was to launch a line of comfortable footwear that would be ideal for everyday use.

In order to turn the rubber extracted from the tyres into usable footwear, Sijwali and Parth visit a chain of cobblers next. They show them potential designs for the footwear and take input from them on their ideas until a final design can be agreed upon. Once the design is finalized, the cobblers get to work and the shoes are ready within no time.

"At Tyron, cobblers are given a monthly base salary of INR 1,000, and depending on the orders they complete, they're given a share of the money we make," Divya Sijwali explained.

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When Sijwali and Parth started during the lockdown, many of the cobblers had lost their livelihoods and they were moving back to their villages. "All the five cobblers we collaborated with in the first two months of our inception had left this profession for underpaid labour jobs. But we give them incentives to stick with Tyron," Sijwali said.

Sustainability Driving Competition Success

The duo had succeeded in multiple corporate competitions, including season three of India's Future Tycoons, organized by ENpower. While they were preparing for the competition, they were able to learn how businesses work and the various challenges that one has to face while running a startup.

Later, they also registered for the World Entrepreneurship Challenge and represented India on the global stage. Even though they did not have any path-breaking innovation, Divya and Parth still managed to win USD 5,000 in prizes.

"While we were competing, there were some great ideas. People were making lithium batteries and had complicated scientific innovation. And we were scared, just sitting there with two pairs of slippers," says Sijwali. Indeed, what made their product win against all was their focus on sustainability.

Puri explained that an excess of tyres in these dump yards meant that they were going to be burnt and toxic gases would be released into the air. Alternatively, if the tyres are dumped in the river, it becomes a major source of microplastic which harms marine biodiversity.


(Tyron shoes made from tyres)

Their entrepreneurship model focuses on reducing this type of waste by upcycling tyres. Thus, it is not only a business model but also a sustainability-driven approach to dealing with waste materials.

Running The Business As School Students

The most challenging task for the duo so far has been to run the business while balancing academics at the same time. Doing both is not an easy task, especially if it is to be done by young students in their late teenage years. Yet, Divya Sijwali and Parth Puri are clear exceptions to this trend.

According to available reports, Sijwali works as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Parth, on the other hand, works as the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Technology Officer. They have also hired two more classmates from school to assist them with the operations of the company.

One of them is Bavleen Kaur, who serves as the Chief Financial Officer and HOD of Human Resources. The other is Gurmaan Singh who serves as the Chief Product Officer. The four-member team has so far recycled 80 tyres and sold 165 pairs of footwear.

Some of the challenges they are facing as school students running a business are threat of lockdowns due to COVID, not being taken seriously, and balancing academics, life and their venture. The final one is perhaps the biggest of them all as completing academic commitments at this level takes up a lot of energy and time.

The duo spends three hours each day on their business and sets targets on a weekly basis. Even though the business at this point is profitable, the team is working doubly hard to meet the dual commitments. However, the entire process is based online as they sell their products all over India as well as in other parts of the world through their website only.

They are also hoping to soon start selling through online retailers like Amazon and Flipkart. In the future, they hope to come up with new materials with which a new line of products like wallets and lifestyle items can be made.

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Shamik Banerjee

Associate, Content

I'm an avid reader and a football lover. When I'm not at work, you will probably find me invested in some football match. At Unstop, I dig out obscure facts and make them relevant through compelling stories.