Anjali Khichar: How a First-Year Student at Parul University Built TiniNest for Differently-Abled Children, Won an SSIP Grant, Lost ₹22 Lakh Overnight in a Transport Venture, and Never Gave Up

Anjali arrived at Parul University without a business background. Both her parents serve in the armed forces. Within her first 10 days, during heavy rain, a teacher suggested she participate in Toyathon, an innovation event. The teacher wanted Anjali to use a specific idea, but Anjali insisted on using her own. She registered independently without telling her teacher.

Her friends doubted the idea. When PIERC representatives came to evaluate participants, those friends repeated their doubts to the PIERC team. Despite the discouragement, Anjali persevered. When she met Anup Sir at PIERC, everything changed. He became her mentor and expressed genuine enthusiasm about her business idea. For a first-year student who had only imagined joining the army, the concept of building a business was new. But she trusted the process.

PIERC’s structured approach made it possible.

• Phase 1 was a verbal pitch at the Incubation Centre.
• Phase 2 required a formal presentation.

Pre-incubation involved 15 days of market research, mentor matching, and budget creation. Anjali made it through Phase 1 and found a female classmate as co-founder for Phase 2. After 15 days of collaboration, the night before the final pitch, her co-founder betrayed her and pitched the idea alone. Anjali was left on her own. She worked through the night without sleep or food, created a new presentation, and presented alone to the judges. She was selected for the SSIP 2.2 grant in her first year. If you too are passionate about getting your business funded, submit your application here!

TiniNest Pvt. Ltd. creates special educational toys designed for both sighted children and children with visual or hearing impairments. The concept emerged from a comment Anjali heard from an MD doctor who said that children with disabilities are simply given a crutch and nothing more can be done. Anjali disagreed profoundly.

She observed how differently-abled children in villages are often treated as burdens and develop low self-esteem at a young age. Her vision is to create a society where there is no difference between children with disabilities and children without by 2030. If all children can use the same toy, they feel equal. TiniNest is not building a product. It is building social change through inclusive design.

The entrepreneurial reality was harsher than the vision. When Anjali entered the real-world market, she was meeting business professionals twice her age with no business experience in her family. People told her to go learn about business before trying to start one. A professor named Megha Ma’am gave her advice that stuck: treat your business like your own child and defend it if anyone speaks badly about it. On 21 March 2025, Anjali stopped taking money from home and became completely self-funded through freelancing. And if you too want to join in the ship of entrepreneurship, begin your journey by enrolling into BBA at Parul University!

Alongside TiniNest, Anjali co-founded Primex Roadways, a transport company in Vadodara, with her cousin. The business grew to 36 trucks. But during the startup phase, she faced one of the worst possible scenarios: losing approximately ₹22 lakh overnight. Most people would have quit after that loss. Anjali did not.

She also co-founded Kesari Veda in partnership with an L&T employee looking to leave corporate life. She described sleepless nights worrying about paying vendors, cheques bouncing, scrambling for loans, and saving money in increments of ₹100 to keep the company going. Through all of it, her message never changed: never give up. And you too shouldn’t, pursue MBA in Entrepreneurship and Startup Acceleration at Parul University and give wings to your dreams!

Anjali detailed the PIERC process clearly for students confused about how to start.

• Step 1: Submit ideas through the PIERC site.
• Step 2: Phase 1 is a verbal pitch at the Incubation Centre, no presentation needed, just share the idea with confidence.
• Step 3: If strong, Phase 2 requires a formal presentation.
• Step 4: Pre-incubation involves 15 days of learning, market research, and meeting actual people. The key insight Anjali emphasised: Parul University does not invest in ideas alone. It invests in founders. Ideas may change, but strong founders succeed regardless.

The PIERC office is on the ground floor of the BBA building. Students can visit directly and speak with Dev, Anup, or Sonali. They can help connect students to lawyers, CAs, and industry professionals. Anjali’s final advice: stop spending hours in the Cafe. College is the time to take chances, because youth and energy are finite resources. Once college is over, responsibilities begin to impede dreams. Make your dream career by enrolling into Integrated BBA-MBA at Parul University!