From Rs 25,000 to Rs 2.5 crore: Three Pune brothers turn college kabada project into goldmine, sold 20 lakh kg scrap

What started as a small college project with an investment of just Rs 25,000 has grown into a business generating Rs 2.5 crore in annual revenue. Three brothers from Maharashtra have turned the everyday problem of selling household scrap into a growing business, collecting and recycling nearly 2 lakh kg of waste every month. The Pune-based startup, ScrapDeal, was founded by Jayesh Pakhale, who later joined hands with his brothers Ganesh and Vaibhav to expand the venture. Their idea was straightforward: make selling scrap as convenient as ordering food online. Today, the company operates across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, with a network of pickup vehicles and thousands of customers. As per a NBT report, it now wants to double its business and achieve a revenue target of Rs 5 crore in the current financial year, FY27.

How a college project turned into a business

The story began in 2019 when Jayesh Pakhale was pursuing his final year of mechanical engineering at Sinhgad Academy of Engineering in Pune. While preparing to vacate his flat, he faced an unexpected problem. He had around 100 kg of scrap to sell but struggled to find a reliable buyer who could collect it from his doorstep and offer transparent prices. The experience made him think about the difficulties people face while disposing of old newspapers, cardboard, metal items and other household waste.

He saw an opportunity to organise this largely unstructured market. Inspired by the convenience offered by food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato, Jayesh decided to build an app that would allow people to schedule scrap collection from their homes. With help from friends, he developed the initial version of the app with an investment of around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. There was no large office or fleet of vehicles at the time. Jayesh started collecting scrap himself, travelling on his Activa and using a borrowed digital weighing machine.

Pandemic brought business to a halt

Building a business from scratch was not easy. Just when the startup was trying to establish itself, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted operations. Lockdowns and movement restrictions brought the business to a standstill for nearly one-and-a-half years. With little business activity, Jayesh had to find other ways to support himself. During this difficult period, he even sold tea and vegetables on the streets to manage his expenses.

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The situation began improving in 2022. This was also when his elder brothers, Ganesh and Vaibhav, joined the venture. With three family members now working together, the business began taking a more organised approach. They outsourced the app's backend operations to a professional company and started conducting scrap collection drives in residential housing societies. These initiatives helped them reach more households and build a regular customer base.

How does ScrapDeal's business model work?

ScrapDeal aims to make the process of selling waste simple and transparent. Customers can use the company's app to select the type of scrap they want to sell and schedule a pickup. A representative then visits their home at the chosen time with an electronic weighing machine. The scrap is weighed in front of the customer, and payment is transferred immediately through UPI. This eliminates the need for customers to search for local scrap dealers or negotiate the entire transaction themselves.

But the company's work does not end with collecting waste. After pickup, the material is sorted according to its category. It is then supplied to authorised recycling companies, paper mills and metal vendors for further processing. The business operates across two segments. Its consumer-facing operations collect scrap directly from households, while its business-to-business network works with companies that generate larger quantities of recyclable waste.

From a handful of customers to a Rs 2.5 crore business

The scale of ScrapDeal has changed considerably since its early days. As per the report, the company now has more than 50 employees and operates over 20 pickup vehicles across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC). It has served more than 1 lakh individual customers and built partnerships with over 100 businesses. Its corporate clients include Pune Metro, Elantas Beck and BG Shirke, among others.

The financial growth has also been significant. ScrapDeal reported revenue of Rs 1.5 crore in FY25, which increased to Rs 2.5 crore in FY26. The brothers are now targeting Rs 5 crore in revenue in FY27.