In a tweet, Anand Mahindra showed interest to buy a pair of shoes from Thaely
He has also enquired if the startup is looking for funding
Indian businessman and chairperson of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, is impressed and has shown interest in investing in an Indian startup, Thaely (थैली) that makes sneakers using recycled materials like plastic bags and bottles. They sell these sneakers at around only USD 100 and are already profitable.
Mahindra shared and commented on a story by Business Insider about the startup. He wrote: Embarrassed I didn’t know about this inspiring startup. These are the kinds of startups we need to cheer on—not just the obvious unicorns. I’m going to buy a pair today. (Can someone tell me the best way to get them?) And when he raises funds-count me in!
Embarrassed I didn’t know about this inspiring startup. These are the kinds of startups we need to cheer on—not just the obvious unicorns. I’m going to buy a pair today. (Can someone tell me the best way to get them?) And when he raises funds-count me in! https://t.co/nFY3GEyWRY
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 17, 2021
Gurgaon-based Thaely is founded by 23-year old, Ashay Bhave. With the tagline, Don’t Just Do It. Do It Right, he explains Thaely was initially developed as a design exercise to develop an ethically produced sneaker that only uses components recycled from waste materials. The aim of the exercise was to find a solution to the problem of the 100 billion plastic bags used each year that use 12 million barrels of oil and kill 100,000 marine animals annually.
The waste plastic bag fabric was developed and perfected over the course of two years, from 2017-2018. To test and prove the fabric, a rough prototype was created with the help of a local shoe repair store in Mumbai with existing patterns, last, and soles. This was a test to prove that the fabric could be used like traditional leather with existing manufacturing techniques. The test was successful and the finished prototype functioned and looked like a traditional leather sneaker. The shoe and along with its business plan was presented at Amity University Dubai’s 2019 Eureka startup pitch competition and was awarded first place. Thaely was able to receive funding and the production of the second prototype was put into action.
The second prototype aimed to make a production-ready sample was developed in Dubai. The design was completely original and was inspired by classic basketball sneakers of the early 2000s to invoke a sense of familiarity. The final prototype was tested and refined to make a production-ready sample.
