My first company. I started it in May 2020, at the height of COVID-19, to supply hand sanitizer and health products to businesses.
In May 2020, hand sanitizer was suddenly one of the most wanted products in the world, and supply couldn’t keep up. I was in my final year of engineering, and I started Zer070 Enterprise to help fill the gap: hand sanitizer and health products for businesses, sold in bulk.
How it worked
I registered the business for GST, listed products on IndiaMART and the export marketplace go4WorldBusiness, and answered enquiries myself. Requests came from companies across India for 5-litre cans and bulk orders, and the export platform sent buyer requests from Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Australia and the United Kingdom, some for full twenty-foot containers.
What it taught me
Zer070 ran from May to December 2020, in parallel with my internships. It was my first lesson in B2B sales: quoting fast, handling compliance, and learning that the product is only half of the business. The other half is trust and follow-up.