“Boon Uses Cutting-Edge Technologies Like AI to Provide Clean Water” Says Vibha Tripathi

Clean and potable water, which urbanites take for granted, is a luxury for many people living in remote villages. When technology has progressed so much that it can create a human personality and make traveling to distant galaxies possible, why it cannot help people access basic amenities? Probing through this question, Dr.Vibha Tripathi, an IITian by qualification, has invested her mettle to come up with solutions, WaterATM and IoT enabled platform called ClairVoyant, to make clean water an affordable thing. Analytics Insight has engaged in an exclusive interview with Vibha Tripathi, Founder, of Boon.

1. Kindly brief us about the company, its specialization, and the services that your company offers.

Boon, formerly known as Swajal, is a water-Tech firm focusing on using innovative technologies to create an impact. Boon is about celebrating water the way it should be, a blessing. The company's first product, WaterATM has proved to be a boon for several remote villages. It is now being deployed widely for social impact and to bring affordable drinking water to the masses.

Boon uses modern and cutting-edge technologies like AI to provide clean water. They have also developed a patented IoT platform called Clairvoyant, one of the world's first and most advanced dedicated platforms for drinking water. With the help of these technologies, Boon delivers fresh water sustainably and economically to a wide variety of users. Their technology has been deployed to enable hotels, offices, airports, and railway stations to remove plastic bottles from their premises. Hence, Boon's technology is eliminating the use of nearly 1 million plastic options every single day.

2. Mention some of the awards, achievements, recognitions, and clients' feedback that you feel are notable and valuable for the company.

Boon works with some of the largest hotel chains in the world- Hilton, Marriott, Accor, Hyatt, IHG, and Radisson, to name a few. Dr. Vibha Tripathi, the founder of Boon, has received many accolades for Boon's revolutionary work, including 'Women Tech Entrepreneur of the Year' by the Department of Science and Technology. Other noteworthy honors include REEEP, WWF Climate Change Solver, FICCI, UNIDO, and featuring in Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 and HT 30 Under 30.

3. Kindly mention some of the major challenges the company has faced till now.

Boon created an entire ecosystem of suppliers and vendors to operate as a manufacturing company rather than simply importing finished goods. But this process has taken a very long time. Another key challenge has been elevating product quality, as there aren't many Indian startups worldwide that concentrate on nouvelle ideas.

4. How do you plan to revolutionize the Indian / overseas market and what are your plans to tap the market?

We are not just category leaders; we define our category of products because we have created that category. This means that we have years of experience operating our tech products, allowing us to scale and dominate our market of choice quickly.

5. How do you see the company and the industry in the future ahead?

There is a moment of reckoning coming for the water industry. Today, water quality is worsening in our cities, making it difficult for conventional filters to function. Simultaneously, there is a growing shortage in the supply of water. Add to it a very important problem of plastic pollution and carbon emission. We forecast an enormous momentum and course correction not only from the water industry but also from the public side.

6. What is your Leadership Mantra?

Our leadership mantra is to be flexible, dynamic, and an infinite learner. Moreover, we try to deploy leadership inspired by multiple leaders, from Brian Chesky (Airbnb) to Marc Lore (jet). Overall, the goal is to spearhead a movement, not just a product.

7. What are some of the challenges faced by the industry today?

Water is an incredibly competitive and saturated industry. Unfortunately, a new marketing take on the type of water (rather than competing on product quality and experience) is the only way products in the industry are competing with one another. This competition has led to several unsustainable products flooding the market, wasting water, and leading to severe environmental side effects. For example, a popular alkaline water system uses electrolysis but wastes a vast amount of water to achieve the same.