Pune Engineer Leaves High-Paying Job to Start Container and Hi-Tech Farming Using Hydroponics, Now Owns Farmer Producer Company

When Pune-based software engineer Shailesh landed a job at ECS, he was relieved at first. His middle-class upbringing ingrained the belief in having a stable job and making steady earnings. Though he was excellent in programming, the founder of today’s 365D Farms had an inherent fear of speaking in English. Being the only one in the family having studied in a vernacular medium, it was a big deal for him to crack an interview.

In an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia, Maharashtra’s Shailesh Modak shared that after giving 40 campus interviews, he got his first job. It was 2002 and Shailesh was earning a salary of Rs. 8,000 but he was contended. 

Travel widens the horizon of the young techie

His job was software implementation in ATMs of international banks for which the company made him travel extensively. Travel made him a bit comfortable with his broken English as he realised in most countries one did not need to be proficient in the language. He traveled to Cambodia, Vietnam, Uganda, Ghana, Malaysia, and many other countries before deciding he would settle in India. 

In search of his ‘true calling’

The Pune engineer returned to India with a wealth of IT experience and took a job at Barclays in 2011. However, after gaining over 13 years of experience in the IT sector, Shailesh was feeling chained down by workload. 

He thought of starting a software company while working in Barclays. The experienced tech professional started a business developing websites for companies. The business was a success as he got over 70 clients at the start.

“I started the business while continuing my job,” shared Pune engineer Shailesh Modak with Startup Pedia. “But this did not give me the satisfaction I thought it would. It was kind of similar to the software-based work that I was kind of running away from,” he added.

So, he handed over the business to someone else and started thinking about doing something unique as a professional. In 2016, Shailesh quit his job to become a full-time entrepreneur. However, he did not have a clue about what to do next. Though his wife and parents were supportive, they were anxious about his career. The former techie often wandered on the Pune highway, driving and hopelessly trying to find out his true calling.

Also read: Homemaker Starts Farming At Home Out Of Passion To Produce Organic Veggies & Microgreens For Family, Now Owns Organic Food Startup (startuppedia.in)

Quitting job: Start of an entrepreneurial journey

One evening, as he was driving his car while the local FM channel was playing on, he got to hear a program in which an expert was discussing honeybees and their importance to the entire living world. Shailesh immediately wanted to learn more about the honeybees. The next morning he went to Pune’s Central Bee Research & Training Institute (CBRTI).

Fortunately, at the time the institute was enrolling students for its upcoming course. Shailesh did not hesitate. He took the week-long course for Rs. 700 and got absorbed in bee training and apiculture.

After doing the course, Shailesh started a company called “Puneri Pollination Services” that provided readymade boxes with bees and beehives to local farmers on rent.

His initial investment was around Rs. 2.5 Lakh to buy 60 wooden boxes of 1.5ft/2.5ft measurement each and 20,000 honeybees, combs, frames, and the entire setup. 

He was mentored by Dr. Vikas Khaire and the business was initially quite successful. When the farmers returned the boxes after the pollination, Shailesh was getting honey and royal jelly in his boxes which he started selling and earning some extra cash. However, a big problem arose.

The problem with the honeybee renting business

While carrying the boxes to local farmers, often the lid of the boxes would get open in a bumpy ride and the drivers were attacked by the honeybees. 

“Honeybees are disciplined,” shared the former techie. “They follow a rule. Right after the sunset, honeybees would return to their respective colonies (the wooden boxes). And then you could just close the boxes, pollination being done for the day. But a few worker bees keep hovering outside the box. These and often when the lid accidentally opened, some other bees would come and sting the driver.”

This caused a big issue as the drivers started refusing to deliver the boxes to local farms.  At this point, Shailesh decided to switch to some other business.

Also read: Two Freshly Passed-Out BTech Grads Start Indoor Saffron Farming in Gujarat, Clock ₹20 Lakh in Annual Turnover (startuppedia.in)

Techie becomes farmer

While renting the pollination boxes to the farms, the Pune entrepreneur interacted with farmers and by this time learned a lot about farming. 

Shailesh decided he would try some farming business next. In 2018, he stumbled on the idea of hydroponics, a technique for growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil. He cultivated leafy vegetables without soil inside shipping containers.

After that, the idea of growing Kashmiri saffron inside containers came to him. Using technology, Shailesh started cultivating various crops without soil inside the shipping containers.

Vertical farm inside shipping container

The agri-startup founder started a unique container farming business and launched his start-up 365D Farms in 2019. 

In an 8X40 sq. ft shipping container, Shailesh divided the farming zone into two parts, each of 8X20 sq. ft. In one part, a saffron farming set-up was constructed using racks to practice vertical farming while the other part is used to farm some vegetables or mushrooms.

The minimum investment for saffron farming in a shipping container was around Rs. 8 - 10 Lakh for the whole setup with chillers, humidifiers, lights, racks, trays, cameras for tracking, and saffron bulbs. 

In this setup, 365D Farms uses 500 kg of saffron bulbs to produce about 1 Kg of saffron. The organic farm sells saffron for Rs. 500 per gram. Shailesh Modak’s 365D Farms sells about a kilogram of saffron annually and generates about Rs. 5 Lakh.

“If we compare container farming to open field farming, using half a portion of container will produce almost equivalent to ½ acre open field production,” confirmed the Pune farm owner. “If we used the full container, production would be more than 1 acre growing the same in an open field.”

For saffron farming, temperature is vital. For that, chillers are used to maintain the inside cooler temperature. Shailesh uses various hi-tech devices to make a suitable environment for the crops he grows in shipping containers in the Warje area of Pune city. He grows saffron from the premium quality crocus corms/bulbs of Kashmir’s Pampore village.

“The feeling of seeing the saffron flower buds for the first time was amazing. I was so happy, as we were so unsure of whether the flower would bloom or not in the container... I tracked the plants’ movement and growth through highly sensitive cameras installed inside the containers. The first time the saffron bloomed, I was not in town, so I rushed back,” he told Startup Pedia.

About 365D Farms

365D Farms is working to grow and serve high-quality fresh food to consumers 365 days a year. Its main objective is to build sustainable hydroponic and high-tech farming systems while educating and promoting the implementation of advanced farming technologies in rural, as well as urban environments.

The farm grows and serves high-quality fresh food 365 days a year. In Shailesh Modak’s farm, soilless agriculture, controlled-environment agriculture, and hydroponics systems are integrated to deliver pesticide-free, residue-free, fresh, and clean food.

As an officially certified trainer of ‘Khadi Gram Udyog’s CBRT,’ Shailesh is actively spreading the knowledge of beekeeping and sustainable farming with more than 1000+ farmers and students through his farm.

Soilless agriculture is beneficial because it saves water. Using the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) method increases food safety by removing contamination, increasing the security of supply as it is unaffected by environmental conditions, eliminating seasonality, and creating stable market pricing beneficial for farmers and consumers alike. 

“We are more attuned to building a system to grow green rather than the crops itself,” the techie-turned-farmer shared in the interview. “ We are a farmer producer company that helps farmers to learn and develop a sustaining system.”

Support system of 365D Farms

A childhood friend of Shailesh, Dr. Rahul Dhake is the co-founder of the organic farm. He is an MBBS, MD, and an Agri Enthusiast with 17+ years of rich corporate experience in Histopathology.

Shailesh Modak and  Dr. Rahul Dhake owe their farming success to their mentor Late Dr. Vikas Khaire. With over 37+ years of experience, Khaire was one of the Gems of Indian Agriculture. He has been featured in 460 + newspaper articles, 7 books, 225+ Radio Talks, 36 TV shows, and 540+ farmer’s melavas for his innovative experimentations in agriculture.

“We learned agriculture from Dr. Khaire,” Shailesh opened up to Startup Pedia. “He was our mentor who guided each step and taught us about plants and farming.”

 A farmer producer farm

Shailesh Modak and his team are working relentlessly to reach common people and teach them how to use technology and practice container farming. 

“We’re trying to train a new generation of farmers who are not confined to just container farming,” the Pune farmer shared with Startup Pedia. “We want individuals to start saffron production in their home or a small room.”

Being a farmer-producer farm, 365D Farms is now giving workshops and seminars to share the strategies of indoor farming with people inclined to start a farming business. 

Shailesh Modak’s farm is continuously doing research on improving the technology for indoor farming. They are experimenting with different light and media, and various conditions for innovative production. The current goal of 365D Farms is to produce the Kashmiri saffron more than once a year in a controlled environment.

“In a few months we will definitely get some results,” Shailesh said confidently. “In a controlled indoor environment maybe we would be successful to produce the Kashmiri saffron multiple times a year which is traditionally grown only once to date.”

Shailesh Modak has trained sustainable farming with more than 700+ farmers and students to date. 

Goals of 365D Farms

Organic farmer Shailesh Modak shared that his ultimate goal is to build a system i.e. container or any growing box which can support not only saffron farming but any other crop as well and which can operate remotely with IOT technology (Internet of things using devices with sensors having processing abilities). 

Mindset reset - Shailesh Modak’s tips to youngsters

The Pune farm founder believes in holding a strong vision. “If you believe in something with strong emotions, it will manifest in your life,” Shailesh shared with Startup Pedia. “Hold a vision, and give your best efforts to your dream. That’s the key to becoming an entrepreneur. That’s how you build a business, a life, anything you want!” he concluded with a smile.