Three years ago, Aabesh De quit his customer service job at Microsoft to work on an idea that became his plant sensor startup, Flora. In an episode of “Shark Tank” that aired Feb. 16, the 29-year-old founder and CEO won a $300,000 deal for its houseplant care solutions.
Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner Stepped $300,000 for 15% equity and 5% in consulting stock, along with a $2 per unit royalty until she recovers her investment. De revealed that Flora brought in $192,000 in gross sales last year, but is still not profitable.
Flora came to life when he tried and failed to keep his houseplants alive during the pandemic. He was overwhelmed by the abundance of articles there and the various instructions needed to care for different types of houseplants. More personally, he was frustrated that every plant he touched kept dying—even a precious plant his mother gave him.
“My dear mother gave me her precious rose plant that she's had for years,” De said on Shark Tank. “And I ended up killing him in eight short days.”
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De was looking for a product that could act as a health tracker for his plants. When he couldn't find it, he invented that – to Flora Pod is a small $64 attachment that goes beyond the soil surface of an indoor or outdoor plant and acts as a means of keeping the plant alive. It ensures that the plant gets enough water and light and lets the user know if something goes wrong.
Another offer of Flora is the popular one APPLICATIONwhich has reached more than 300,000 people in 190 countries. To use the app, the pod is not required; App users can set personalized reminders, scan their plant to get information about its species, and earn game-like rewards while tending to their plants.
Flora also offers locally sourced houseplants for sale online.
De started his business from scratch, teaching himself what he needed to know about electronics and computer science so he could build the humidity sensor prototype for the Flora Pod and code the Flora iOS app.
“It's been incredibly rewarding to see how far we've come,” De said his alma mater, Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.