Today we’d like to introduce you to Gurnoor and Arshia Narula.
The beginnings of Groundify originated on a road trip in the valleys of Austria. As the founders, Gurnoor and Arshia had recently visited and were naively touring the great cities of Austria, both of them couldn’t help but notice how clean all the cities were. Compared to their recent visit to their parents’ hometown in North India, where the most common waste disposal method was trash burning, trash and landfills seemed to be nonexistent in the cities of Austria.
Although they disregarded this thought for the remainder of the trip, it began to spark curiosity on their way back to the U.S., and through several days of thinking, they realized the importance of ensuring that our society moves towards a landfill-free society. Both Gurnoor and Arshia slowly began to materialize this issue into a social venture that would address the problems in our society, Groundify.
Groundify was born through the problem of spent coffee grounds being thrown in landfills. With 23 million tons of global waste is produced by spent coffee grounds each year, the problem begins in the landfills. Over time, deposited spent coffee grounds emit harmful greenhouse gases such as methane and CO2 that intensify global warming—this global warming results in climate change and numerous other negative implications.
While many coffee brands promote the sustainability of their farms, little attention is paid to the positive environmental impact of the spent coffee grounds. This is the problem that Groundify aims to bring the most attention to through the production of byproducts made by spent coffee grounds. Therefore, our purpose is simple: to champion the shift towards a circular economy in the coffee industry by redefining the way spent coffee grounds are repurposed to keep them in the economy.
Today, Groundify stands as the forerunner into a shift towards positive environmental change as we have repurposed 1160 lbs. of spent coffee grounds in the DFW area and have prevented 762 lbs. of harmful carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With any entrepreneur, there are certain challenges or failures that one faces. From being rejected by Shark Tank to being able to balance our schoolwork and company as young entrepreneurs, we have had our fair share of bumps. However, every time this has happened, we have analyzed the situation, developed a plan, and solved the problem to ensure we keep on advancing and learning.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Groundify – what should we know?
Our service includes the pickup of spent coffee grounds from large coffee ground producers, namely restaurants, cafes, and other industries that look to partner with us. Once picked up on a specific schedule, these coffee grounds will be transported to Groundify’s manufacturing facility in which they are repurposed into sustainable, eco-friendly products. Through this innovative service, we successfully divert the spent coffee grounds from landfills in which they cause a multitude of negative implications and repurpose them into new products available to the public.
We are most proud of our environmental impact and the fact that, through every pound of spent coffee grounds that we divert, we are changing the world for the better. We are unique in that we are the only U.S. social enterprise to champion the shift towards a circular economy in the coffee industry by redefining the way spent coffee grounds are repurposed as we create eco-friendly, consumer-facing products.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe the most important quality in the success of this company was our ability to remain confident in our “why”, or the purpose we were pursuing this goal. The most rewarding part of launching a company is living the “why” or the reason you started it. Since Arshia and I started Groundify to leave our impact on our society as young citizens, we are proud when we collect coffee grounds from our local partnered coffee shops since we know we are making a positive environmental impact and driving futuristic social change.
Pricing:
- Groundify Maple (Candle) – $15.99
- Groundify Pumpkin (Candle) – $15.99
- Groundify Lumen (Candle) – $15.99
- Groundify Glow (Candle) – $15.99
- Groundify Renew (Face Mask) – $14.99
- Groundify Fresh (Body Scrub) – $12.99
- Groundify Nourish (Hand & Lip Scrub) – $12.99
Contact Info:
- Address: 9801 Fernridge Drive, Plano, TX 75025
- Website: https://www.groundify.org/
- Phone: 972-971-9693
- Email: info@groundify.org
- Instagram: @groundify
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/groundify/?viewAsMember=true
Image Credit:
Suad Bejtovic
Arshia Narula
Jordyn Dick (@desertvioletphotos)
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