When 34-year-old Sourabh Jain first grew to become a father to his daughter, his perspective on life modified. Like every guardian, his daughter grew to become his world.
Nevertheless, he struggled with bonding together with her at first. “She was so tiny and couldn’t communicate. I didn’t know easy methods to bond together with her. That’s after I realised that video games and books are interactive and supply a possibility to spend hours together with her,” he recalled in a dialog with The Higher India.
Thus started the hunt for video games and toys that not solely helped him bond together with his daughter but in addition contributed to her cognitive growth. Throughout this search, he realised that not solely are these toys and video games exhausting to seek out, however they’ll additionally burn a gap in a single’s pockets.
“One other realisation was that it is vitally exhausting to make toys eco-friendly. There may be some quantity of plastic all the time current and it’s dangerous to the atmosphere and the little ones,” he says.
Whereas he aspired to offer his daughter the world, he additionally endeavoured to depart behind a cleaner, greener, and extra sustainable world for her. As we speak, he owns The EleFant — a toy rental firm, or in Sourabh’s phrases, ‘a labour of affection’.
The corporate has a buyer base in 14 main cities in India, together with Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Indore, Bengaluru, and so on. Interested in how the enterprise works and how one can lease toys in your youngsters? Learn on.
Sustainable, age-appropriate and enjoyable
Born and raised in a enterprise household, Sourabh all the time had an entrepreneurial mindset. Regardless of working as a chartered accountant for many of his life, he harboured a persistent curiosity in beginning his personal enterprise.
“The thought for EleFant emerged from the will to offer the perfect toys for my daughter, however it’s additionally a model for fogeys like us,” he explains.
Amid altering household dynamics, Sourabh noticed the rising problem for fogeys who juggle work and residential obligations concurrently. “More often than not, I’d be working, leaving little room to exit and seek for toys. I needed to simplify one factor for working dad and mom like myself,” he says.
The transition from the company world for Sourabh was gradual. “The thought started taking form in my thoughts in 2022, however I needed a stable plan of motion. I aimed to supply dad and mom a dependable service and an efficient subscription mannequin,” he provides.
Sourabh additionally emphasised the significance of making certain that the toys offered to youngsters usually are not simply pleasant but in addition partaking and academic. “As a guardian, I perceive how essential it’s for youths to have the appropriate atmosphere on the proper time to encourage them and assist them develop,” he says.
In pursuit of this idea, Sourabh enlisted the experience of a psychologist, a paediatrician and an ex-school principal to discern the varieties of toys that may be most useful for youngsters.
“After almost a yr of creating the idea and making certain that every one our toys meet the best high quality requirements, we determined to launch the model,” he states.
Presently, the corporate has a buyer base of greater than 250 subscribers with over 2,000 downloads of the applying per day. In addition they have collaborations with 70 toy firms the place they supply their toys.
Amongst these 250 subscribers is Rahul Bhauwala from Mumbai who rents toys for his 6-year-old. “I’m a working skilled and I hardly get any time to exit and spend hours on the lookout for and shopping for toys. I might use that valuable time to play with my youngster as a substitute. That is why I like utilizing The EleFant app. They’ve a variety of toys that are categorised as per age. The merchandise are very well-packaged and my son cherished opening them because it seemed like a gift to him,” he says.
“We goal to determine a round economic system the place toys are reused repeatedly. This not solely cuts prices but in addition advantages the atmosphere. Contemplating how shortly youngsters outgrow issues, toys typically find yourself in landfills,” he explains.
Pocket-friendly for fogeys and enjoyable for youths
Whereas the behavior of reusing and thrifting may need began trending just lately, if we glance again to our childhood, sharing youngsters’s belongings has all the time been a part of our tradition.
“We might go down our toys and garments to our chachi, mami’s (aunts) youngsters. Nevertheless, with the nuclear household setup, this development has declined. I believe it was this observe that has made individuals place their belief in us too,” he says.
Recalling the preliminary response of the individuals he says, “The dad and mom had been very delighted and confirmed encouragement. Whereas they had been just a little sceptical of sanitation since these merchandise shall be reused, I defined that we’ve got a sanitation course of and each toy that reaches their child is secure for consumption,” he says.
Moreover, the librarians and toy specialists of Sourabh’s workforce are all dad and mom who perceive the necessity for sanitation and hygiene of the merchandise and ensure they’re correctly sanitised.
“Our content material is solely targeted on information, development, and growth. We firmly consider within the essential position of toys and books in enhancing youngsters’s abilities. Presently, we provide a various vary of 14 toy classes,” he says speaking in regards to the strategy of subscribing to The EleFant.
The classes embody STEM-based toys, board video games, artwork and schooling, faux play, sound books, instructional books, and extra.
“The abilities we concentrate on embody modal abilities, gross motor abilities, bodily and emotional growth, in addition to social, environmental and relationship understanding, amongst others,” he says.
The registration course of entails downloading the app, and as soon as on-line, they’ll proceed to develop into a member, they’ll select from the out there packages.
“We provide three plans: Backyard, Property, and Forest. The Backyard plan permits for 2 merchandise at a time with two free deliveries monthly, costing roughly Rs 750 month-to-month. This plan fits households with youngsters deeply engaged in particular actions. The Property plan, our hottest, offers three merchandise at a time and three free deliveries month-to-month, averaging round Rs 1,000, catering to curious youngsters wanting to discover new issues,” he says.
The Forest plan is right for tremendous energetic youngsters or households with two youngsters of various age teams, providing 4 toys at a time with 5 free deliveries at a median of about Rs 1,400 monthly.
‘These plans are well-defined, economical, and inexpensive, permitting prospects to take pleasure in quite a lot of toys tailor-made to their preferences,” he provides.
Sourabh says that he needed to make a enterprise that caters to all. “Our intention was not solely to cater to an elite membership, making it an costly and unique service. As an alternative, we aimed to offer a possibility for everybody to offer their youngsters the whole lot in a sustainable method. The worth is saved this manner, emphasising inclusivity and accessibility for all.”
When you want to check out Sourabh’s distinctive subscription mannequin, click on right here to down the applying.
(Edited by Padmashree Pande)