About Mr. Karan Chopda

Karan Chopda is a renewable energy expert and proficient in renewable energy solution design and development. He is well-versed with AutoCAD, Sketchup, PVSyst, PVSol, Solarium, Multiple online and offline designing and forecasting tools.

Karan comes from a small town in Maharashtra, called Khamgaon with a population of 1.5 lakhs. After finishing his BE from Vivekanand College in Mumbai, he worked for a year as a software engineer in TCS. After leaving TCS in 2009, he returned to his hometown. Between 2010 and 2013, he did not do much. His marriage in 2013 proved to be a turning point and he plunged into entrepreneurship. There has been no looking back since.

Evolution of Chirayu Power

Chirayu was founded in 2014 as “Karmo Solar Solutions” as a proprietary business with a capital of Rs 20,000 (self-funded company). In 2015, it started providing various kinds of solar energy solutions. In January 2016, the proprietary business became “Chirayu Power Pvt Ltd.”

Between 2017 and 2020, the business scaled up. The initial focus was on residential solutions but increasingly the focus has shifted to commercial and industrial solutions. With more than 1500+ clients, Chirayu Power has installed solar rooftop solutions of 40+MW and ground mounted solutions of 120+MW. With a team of 30 engineers and 100+ fabricators, Chirayu Power is now competing on a pan India basis. The current turnover is Rs 45 crores.

Karan believes Chirayu’s success has been driven by a dedicated team, low labour costs and low overheads. As a result of all these factors, he has been able to build cost effective solutions.

Skill set is the ultimate success factor. As we learnt from the movie, Three Idiots, we must follow excellence. Then success will follow us. We should do what we love. Then, we will love what we do. Life is not a race. We need not compare ourselves with others. The journey is more important than the outcome.

Learnings

Karan summarized his learnings:

• We should never give up.
• We should keep working on our craft.
• No problem exists without a solution.
• We should keep learning everyday.
• Work life balance does not exist in the initial days. It is work/work/work.
• We should stop thinking and start doing.
• It is ok to be scared. Doing scary things will pay off provided they are sensible. The entrepreneurial journey is difficult at the start, messy in the middle and beautiful in the end.
• We should have the mindset of a leader and learn to lead without a title.
• It is not about money. Business is for a purpose. Money is a by-product.
• We should not assume we are the best. We should keep working hard in our endeavour to be the best.
• Be genuine. We should be what we are and accept it.

Advantages of doing business in rural India

• Land is easily available and less costly.
• Cheap manpower is readily available.
• We can work with more focus and less distraction.
• People in rural areas generally have high EQ and are satisfied with what they have. This leads to higher retention.
• There are lower overheads.
• The commuting time is less.
• We can get more loyalty from suppliers and employees.

Agri business opportunities in small towns/rural India

• Tree nursery and farming
• Herb farming
• Bee farming
• Fruit farming
• Fish/Prawn farming (in coastal areas)
• Hydroponic farming
• Flower farming
• Organic farming

Agro industries that show promise in rural India

• Textiles
• Food processing- Dal, sugarcane, potatoes, etc.
• Dairy
• Sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Tea/coffee
• Leather
• Bamboo
• Jute

Renewable energy opportunities

• Solar
• Wind
• Tidal
• Hydro
• Biogas
• Green hydrogen
• Hybrid

Warehousing

The cold storage business is a promising opportunity. Government subsidies and bank loans with low interest rates are available.

Technology business

Software development, software support and solutions, digital marketing, etc can be handled from rural areas.

Traditional business

There are various opportunities including shops, gyms, restaurants, movie theatres.

To conclude, when it becomes to rural business opportunities, there is no shortage of ideas. What is missing is the will to execute them.

On the motivation to pursue his journey

Karan comes from a Marwari family and has been surrounded by entrepreneurs from a young age. So he was clear in his mind, even when he joined TCS that he would quit the job soon. He idea of doing something in the solar space emerged gradually. There was no one big moment as such. It was about getting started and taking a step by step approach.

In business families, children are encouraged to understand business (visiting the bank or sitting with their father in the office, etc) while pursuing education. They also learn by observing and emulating entrepreneurs.

In Mumbai, as an engineering student, it was a tough life in the hostel. Karan learnt to cope with various difficulties and challenges. While at TCS, he learnt the importance of working hard. While living in Mumbai, he understood the importance of punctuality.

Industrial vs residential customers

It is often easier to educate the industrial customers compared to the home consumers. Industrial solutions range in value from Rs 1 crore to Rs 12 crores. Home solutions are in the range of Rs 3-4 lakhs. So to grow big, Karan realized the importance of onboarding industrial customers. As he put it, it important to hunt lions. Then hunting goats will be much easier.

On Renewable power

Storing electricity without the help of the grid will become increasingly important. In this context, battery backup will become important. Batteries which are cheaper and with a longer life will be the way forward. Green hydrogen (hydrogen made using clean energy) will play a central role in the economy. A new government policy has just been announced to give an impetus. With fuel cells becoming important and hydrogen the main raw material for such cells , hydrogen is becoming important. While the solar space is increasingly becoming saturated, hydrogen is an emerging business.

Logistics

This is very important for a country like India to grow at a faster rate. A lot of time is currently spent by trucks at toll plazas and interstate boundaries. The time taken for transportation should be reduced to enable a better business environment.

How to scale up business in rural areas?

There is a lot of potential in rural areas, but it is not fully tapped. In general, young people want to work in the cities, enjoy a better quality of life and have fun. They do not want to work hard or bear the pain of setting up a venture in rural areas. But the fact is there are multiple opportunities. For example, one of Karan’s friends, has an annual trading turnover in excess of Rs 50 crores. We need to celebrate heroes operating in rural areas. We must inspire younger people with their examples. We also need to build awareness among students and other young people of the advantages (lower costs, etc) of operating in rural areas.

On how he chose the name Chirayu Power

After brainstorming with friends and relatives, Karan chose the name Chirayu. He wanted a Sanskrit name. The word Chirayu means infinite and captures the essence of renewable energy which is limitless in supply.

On ethics in business

Without ethics, a business cannot grow and succeed. We can fool people with unethical practices for some time but soon we will get caught. There are no short cuts to success. It is important for the entrepreneur to set the tone and explain what the organization stands for.

On the business case for solar

Today, there are few concerns about the viability of solar power generation on roof tops. The only debate is which vendor to go with. With solar, breakeven can be achieved in about three years. An IRR of 33% can be generated for 25- 30 years. The returns are more or less assured as solar energy supplies are guaranteed. If we add the government subsidies, the returns are even higher. Solar is not only a good investment opportunity but is also a green solution. One KW of solar power is equivalent to 125 trees.

Responding to a question, Karan added that convincing customers to buy the product starts with self-conviction. Salespeople must first believe in their own solution. Then they must try to understand what makes their product superior to those of competitors: superior product knowledge, service, etc. In general, it is not good to compete on price. Rather, we should maintain high quality standards and not offer anything cheap. Karan feels that in solar, it is important to remain at the cutting edge of technology.

On taking risk

Any venture involves risk and is not for everyone. While the difficulties are obvious, we should also believe that they are surmountable. We should not paralyse ourselves by thinking too much. Moreover, rather than thinking too long term, we should think of what we can do to make today better than yesterday.

One advantage for entrepreneurs today is that funds are easily available. Bank loans of upto Rs 2 crore can be obtained without the need for mortgage, provided we have a clear business plan or protype. Moreover, risk can be minimized by keeping the overheads low. Funds doesn’t mean wings to fly and overspend. We could operate from rented premises till we have built a good foundation. Then only we should think of having our own premises.

Building a team in Tier 3 cities

People in bigger cities tend to be better educated and skilled. In the rural areas, people must be trained and handheld. But once this is done, they will be extraordinarily committed and loyal. Karan in fact did a lot of the wiring work himself initially as he did not have enough people. Gradually, he built his team.

On the engineering curriculum

It is too theoretical and lacks a practical orientation. Business knowledge is also missing. Many engineers who graduate today are not fit to be hired. For example, there are many electrical engineers who do not even know how electricity is generated or distributed.