How a Family Trip Inspired my Initiative!
Ruchi Shah
Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U)
What is your organization?
Mosquitoes Be Gone LLC is a company based on an all-natural mosquito repellent that I invented when I was in high school. At the time it was my science project. I was inspired by the people that I saw on a trip to India who are suffering from mosquito-transmitted diseases.
In college, it became a company with two main aspects. One aspect being to bring this mosquito repellent to the market and the other aspect to build an internship program that would support college students in developing their own skills and experiences that they could use to make their own impact in the community.
The chief operating officer of our company is my sister, Nidhi Shah and it’s been an amazing experience working together on our company. Our strengths complement each other well and we motivate each other to grow our company and expand our impact. As sisters, we’ve built a foundation of communication, trust, and shared values that translate well to leading the company together.
Today we are selling the product online. We're currently selling in 19 different states We were able to use the profits from our first season in 2019 to be able to donate repellents to communities in Madagascar. That's a big part of our company as well - giving back to the communities that inspired us and our work to begin with.
Tell us more about what inspired you?
Mosquitoes Be Gone LLC really started when I was 15 years old and I had gone on a trip to India with my family.
In particular, there's this one image that really stands out to me. I saw a long line of people outside of a clinic waiting to get treatment for mosquito-transmitted diseases. When I returned home with these memories, I remember thinking that there is a need for both access to preventative care from mosquito-transmitted diseases, and that was affordable and safe. As I did some research, I was surprised to learn that 250 million people were affected by malaria alone, the majority of these people being in developing countries. So that was my inspiration.
In high school, I was in a research class and they asked, “hat's a problem or a question that you have that you want to address with your work?”
I thought what if I could better understand why certain people are more attractive to mosquitoes, and then come up with a repellent that neutralizes those attractive components? That was my driving motivation behind this entire journey that has now been over 10 years.
What have challenges been along your journey so far?
I think every stage of the company has had its own challenges. Initially starting out before it was even a company when it was a science project, there were a lot of challenges within the project. I was collecting sweat samples from athletes and I got mosquito larva from a science company and grew mosquitoes in a tank that we built in our garage.
There were all of the failures that happened with science and that persistence of just following through, failure after failure, and believing in this vision that you have.
Another challenge was then transitioning from being a scientist to an entrepreneur, as I really had no experience in starting a business!
And then the next phase while building the internship program, a challenge has been learning to delegate effectively and learning what really makes a great team - how can I build the best team around me and create a support structure to bring this product forward.
Now that we've launched the product, it's really been about how we can best reach people and share our vision and what we're doing with the company. Sales, marketing, and outreach has become a big priority, as well as building partnerships. I think every stage has had its challenges, but with challenges also comes a lot of great learnings.
What resources have helped you?
Mentorship has been a really big part of our journey, and our successes along the way. From when I started out by having my parents’ support by taking over their garage and building all these test chambers there, to having professors and other mentors who have really believed in us, supported us, and helped guide us throughout this journey. I think mentorship is a really important piece of our company and it's something that we hope to give forward as well with our internship program. This is the sixth year of the internship program and we have graduated over 50 students from the program.
Seeking out people, learning, and absorbing as much as I could and trying to implement all these little tidbits into building this company has helped me develop Mosquitoes Be Gone LLC.
What advice would you give your peers?
There are a few things that come to mind. One thing that's really important is to know your values and your ethics! Leading from that is to really know what the foundation of your project or your company is and to always go back to that when you feel challenged or you have questions about where to go. That has really helped guide us forward.
One other thing that comes to mind is that I've learned that it's okay to say no. It's okay to value self-care and to value your time and to say no to things that will help you find the things that you want to say yes to.
Another really great piece of advice that we had received early on that I think has been valuable is to operate from the mindset of abundance. Although resources can be tight when you are starting out, always operate from a mindset of abundance and giving.
It's really amazing when you are in that mindset of giving, how much will come back. It's easy when you're starting out - you think, “Oh, we just have limited funds,” or, “Do we really want to invest in this project or in this outreach program?” But you know what? When you do, it's just incredible with, not only the positive impact that you have but what ends up coming back to the company.
How did you find out about CGI U?
In regards to mentorship, one of my mentors actually reached out because she was involved with the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), and she said that she thought it would be a really great fit for me. She had known about the mosquito repellent at that time, but I hadn't exactly figured out what I was going to do with it as it was in the very, very early stages of starting a company. She sent me information about the program, we chatted a bit about it, and I ended up applying! CGI U is really amazing.
How has CGI U influenced your professional path?
The CGI U community has been really incredible - from the Facebook groups to the in-person meetings and being a part of the Marketplace event last year, I’ve just been so inspired by all of my fellow students and alumni.
My colleagues in the program have been really incredible as well. For me, being a physician and being an entrepreneur, I feel that CGI U has helped to inspire and support both of those careers that I have, and I couldn’t imagine choosing one or the other!
Why would you recommend CGI U to someone else?
For one, CGI U can really help serve you as a foundation for growth.
With that, the community is really what stands out to me as the most impactful aspect of CGI U - it's really incredible. As a support system, as a bouncing board, I've met and made so many friends through the program. If I have a question or if I want to run things by someone, the program and community of people are there! It's really been a supportive and incredible community.
