The Scrap Uncle is a waste management startup.
What is Scrap Uncle?
The scrap and junk industry in India is highly unorganized. These kabadiwallahs manage the recycling of most of these junk items. Most of the high-rise buildings in metro cities do not have access to these kabadiwallahs and even in those cities that have, many times people do not trust them enough to let them inside the house to pick up junk.
Keeping these issues in mind, Scrap Uncle was started to give accessibility to kabadiwallahs via an app through the click of a button. Scrap Uncle was started in 2019 by Mukul Chhabra.
The vision is “to organize and standardize the junk selling and recycling industry of India”
The mission is “to make Scrap Uncle the largest on-demand junk-selling platform in India”
| Startup | Scrape Uncle |
| Website | scrapuncle.com |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
| Products | Packing products |
| Revenue Model | Trade |
How did it start?
The founder explored the world of junk in his childhood through his uncle’s junkyard. That curiosity, combined with the notion of creating a business with a simple idea that is not yet explored in the entrepreneurial space landed in the formation of Scrap Uncle, a start-up in the waste management sector.
Quick Overview
Growth rate
Currently, Scrap Uncle is generating monthly revenue of INR 30 lakhs. The revenue for the last financial year, or FY 2021-22, was around INR 1.5 crores. The expected revenue for FY 2022-23 is 4 to 5 crores.
Since its inception, Scrap Uncle is growing at a rate of 16% month on month, on average.
Area of operations
Currently, Scrap Uncle is only operational in Delhi & NCR.
Market Penetration
The market penetration was not very tough as the idea was clear and the competition was only with the traditional kabadiwallahs. But with Scrap Uncle, pre-fixed prices, verified collectors, certified and organized recyclers, and flexibility were provided which made it smooth for them.
Team
The full-time employees currently in Scrap Uncle are 8, 4 interns and 7 people who work on a contractual basis at the warehouses, and 12 collection partners who go and collect the junk from sources and get it down at the warehouses.
A section of Scrap Uncle is also dealing with the B2B sector. They have clients like Godrej, Urban Company, Kohler, the Embassy of Thailand, and the Embassy of Spain.
Target Market
The target audience is households in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, typically in the age group of 30 to 55 years old. The idea is to target a market that has accessibility to smartphones and computer literacy.
Revenue Model
The revenue model is typically sales. Trading is what makes money for Scrap Uncle, with a margin of 25-30%.
Sales Turnover
From inception till now, the sales turnover has been around INR 3.5 crores.
Competition
Most of the competitors for Scrap Uncle are operating in the B2B space. In the B2C space, the major competitor for Scrap Uncle is The Kabadiwallah.com, mostly based out of Madhya Pradesh.
Business Type
The startup runs on a Reverse Logistics or C2B business model.
Future Expansion Plans
The current plan is to expand to other metro cities and then to other Tier 2 cities.
SWOT Analysis
The strength of the startup lies in its innovation of bringing an unorganized sector to an organized one.
The weakness is transitional issues that may occur in conversion to the organized sector of the junk industry.
The opportunity is large as the market is huge. It is a $27 billion industry currently and it is only going to grow. It is expected to become a $200 billion market by 2030.
The threat is that the business can be easily copied. But Scrap Uncle’s team is strong, with a deep connection with the ground operations. Also, they have a first-mover advantage.
Scrape Uncle Funding
This startup was started with a capital of around INR 1 lakhs. Scrap Uncle also got a grant of INR 25 lakhs from Columbia University in 2020.
Raising funds has been a challenge for Scrap Uncle because investors are generally more interested in organized sectors, but unorganized sectors if pursued properly, can grow exponentially, says the founder.
Founder
Mukul Chhabra is the founder who graduated from IIIT, Delhi.
Rewards & Recognitions
● Winner in the “Early Stage Startups” category of the Mbillionth Awards South Asia organized by Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) & Facebook.
● Winners of the Urban Works Innovation Challenge by Columbia University, among the 3 in India.
More
Who is the founder of ScrapUncle?
Mukul Chhabra is the founder of ScrapUncle. He has completed his bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications from IIIT Delhi.