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Back in 2016, when Aayush Jha’s father had moved to New Delhi, he had fallen prey to the bad quality of air in the city and had to be hospitalised. It was then that Aayush felt the urgent need to change the scenario. “Poor air quality affects 12 million people throughout the world, and most air purification systems are expensive. We realised this is a problem that needs to be addressed with a long-term solution,” he says.

Founded in 2018, clean air startup Clairco helps large enterprises in maintaining their indoor air quality with enhanced air purification and real-time insights to reduce maintenance costs, increase energy efficiency, and improve occupant experience.

Scaling up indoor air quality

Clairco stands for ‘clean air company’, and has developed patented technologies to convert existing air ventilation units into air purification systems to become the world’s first company that can guarantee clean air. With this innovation, Clairco has been able to make the adoption of air purification much more affordable, measurable, and scalable. “Our R&D team is working round the clock to make sure that it brings that state-of-art indoor air purification system,” says the co-founder and CEO.

Clairco promises clean air as a service to any place with a central air conditioner. “We have developed technologies by which we can modify an existing central air conditioner, targeting areas like an airport, a metro station, shopping malls, schools, hospitals, tech parks, etc,” adds Aayush.

Thus, Clairco would retrofit the air handling unit with a low-pressure drop Clairco Filter, compatible with the existing systems. That would inline with services like:

Indoor air quality monitoring– Clairco’s air quality monitors are IoT devices that are accurate and app-enabled. They are designed and manufactured in India, and are REACH, CE and GreenPro certified.

Indoor air purification– Clairco has filters that are GreenPro Ecolabel certified while enabling the clients to get additional credits in green building certification systems.

In-depth monthly reports– Clairco’s full-featured web dashboard allows its customers to download historical data, compare monitors, plot averages, and generate reports.

Real-time monitoring using web-app– Clairco displays real-time air quality data of the entire property using their secured login enabled dashboard with deep insights.

How it works

Aayush feels that the biggest problem with this industry is the cost, and every company cannot afford to have this entire segment of air quality management dropped at their doorstep. Thus, Clairco was formed with the overall idea of ensuring affordable, measurable, and accountable, clean air services. “We charge our clients on a monthly basis, while guaranteeing a certain air quality limit, and in case we are unable to produce clean air up to that quality, we don’t charge anything, and that’s our accountability, making us unique and different,” says Aayush.

Clairco is almost 20 percent more affordable, says Aayush, than any other names in the industry. “We are affordable, charge our clients on a monthly basis, and thus, slowly but securely a larger chunk of the customer base are agreeing to this newer concept of purification of indoor air on a monthly budget,” he adds.

Since its inception, Clairco has gone through multiple rounds of improvements, including the addition of several features in its products for the betterment of services. “For instance, initially we were only measuring PM 2.5,” explains Aayush. For the unversed, these are the almost invisible, fine dust particles suspended in the air, which are detrimental to human health.

“We started with them and gradually shifted to finding other harmful indoor pollutants, and the answer was carbon dioxide. Thus, we started upgrading the fresh air system, by also filtering the fresh air that is coming from outside. We also included the UV systems that would filter out the airborne pathogens,” he shares.

Vocal for local

“We offer clean air as a service just like any other SaaS company and we cater to big businesses and corporate houses as our target segment is commercial real estate. IoT had to be incorporated into the filters to track the air quality. Therefore, we have always shared a good relationship with technology, and hence the online domain,” says Aayush.

As an Indian company, the domain name should reflect the identity and location. “We are an Indian company meant for the world,” he adds.

“Indians are now trusting small businesses more than ever. A .in domain not only guarantees a level playing field but also gives an edge to the businesses.”

The National Internet Exchange for India (NIXI) is helping many businesses across the country to get a .in or .Bharat domain. Enterprises irrespective of their scale and size can avail a .in domain with the help of NIXI. It is affordable and can be availed in more than 22 languages for businesses coming from all regions of the country.

Aayush feels small businesses should opt for a website over social media or e-commerce platforms to establish their businesses, as there is a lot of freedom and customisation available while setting up a website.

Growth and revenue

Calculating an annual revenue growth of Rs 31,97,325 for FY 2019-20, Clairco witnessed almost 393.37 percent more growth for FY 2020-21, with the revenue amounting to Rs 1,25,77,437.

“Due to the pandemic, people have realised the value of hygiene, cleanliness, and air quality, while staying indoors. Thus, the need for air purification of clean air has increased, and we are hopeful that the future looks bright and lucrative,” adds Aayush.

Currently, Clairco is growing at a rapid pace, and Aayush hopes that it will maintain the momentum. “We are partnering with multiple existing HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) companies, and working with central air-conditioning companies like Carrier and Voltas. Besides, we are also launching our companies in the Middle East and Southeast Asian companies, and in terms of products, we would be venturing into the energy efficiency zone,” concludes Aayush.

The ‘Shaping India Inc’s Online Growth’ series chronicles the journeys of startups and SMEs in India and how creating an online presence on the .in or .Bharat domain powered their success stories.