This husband-wife duo started an on demand fuel delivery startup, backed by Ratan Tata, made Rs 72 Cr revenue in FY23

Repos Energy, founded in 2017, is a Pune based on demand fuel delivery startup that is redefining the energy distribution system by making all fuels available at your doorstep with just a click on the Repos app!

The startup was founded by Pune-based husband-wife duo Chetan Walunj and Aditi Walunj.

Aditi and Chetan hail from affluent business families who are into construction, hospitality and own a few petrol pumps. Chetan has been involved in his family business since his college time, while Aditi, after her studies, was figuring out how she could use her privilege to do something revolutionary and impactful.  

"I had everything: money, a luxury car and a bungalow. I wanted to lead my life with a bigger purpose. I wanted to change the world. However, I did not know how I would do that," told Aditi while speaking to Startup Pedia.  

Chetan Walunj and Aditi Walunj - Founders of Repos Energy

Aditi studied forensics and international relations, while Chetan holds a Mechanical engineering degree. In 2016, they tied the knot. After spending some time together and getting to know each other, they realised they were both passionate about doing something meaningful rather than running the family businesses. 

The Eureka moment 

The couple were so determined to discover their purpose in life that they spent a few days in the serenity of the Himalayas. 

Following that, one day in 2016, Pune experienced a lot of rain, which affected the city's electricity supply. A complete blackout occurred. During the disaster, Aditi was on the phone, managing her family's fuel business. 

She was constantly on calls and messages managing the chaos. Suddenly, somebody knocked on her door, and it turned out to be a deliveryman who was there to deliver a book Aditi had ordered from Amazon. A notification was also received on Aditi's phone, notifying her about the delivery.  

It was a moment of eureka for them. They both looked at each other, and Chetan said, "What if we could deliver fuel like that?" to Aditi. 

The duo created a model of how their idea of e-commerce for fuel would work and then began talking to the ministry for policies (as fuel can only be sold online to anyone with a policy in place). Being as young as 25 and 28, they also needed a mentor to pursue the revolutionary idea they had to transform the energy distribution ecosystem. 

Since business tycoon Ratan Tata happened to be their role model, they used every possibility to meet him. They sent a letter to Ratan Tata through his (Ratan Tata's) driver and waited 12-13 hours outside his residence. 

Eventually, the duo met Ratan Tata and shared their idea of building an e-commerce for fuel, which had never happened before anywhere across the globe. Impressed by their idea, Ratan Tata became their mentor. 

Founders of Repos with Mr. Ratan Tata

"When we met Ratan Tata, sir, it was a moment of meditation, zone out and bliss. We could not believe that at 25, we were sitting in front of Ratan Tata sir and explaining our business idea. The meeting was scheduled for 20 minutes, but it stretched to 3 hours long," expressed Aditi. 

In 2017, Chetan and Aditi launched Repos Energy to execute their plan to transform the energy distribution ecosystem. 

What is Repos Energy 

Repos Energy is an on demand fuel delivery startup that is redefining the energy distribution system by making all fuels available at your doorstep with just a click on the Repos app! The app has IoT-enabled Mobile Fuel Stations and a DATUM tool.   

The DATUM tool in the Repos Energy mobile app gives users complete data on fuel consumption, usage, and mileage. 

The Datum Tool

To be precise, Repos is an Amazon for fuel catering to construction sites, infrastructure projects, manufacturing plants, heavy machinery, hospitals, malls and housing societies. Currently, they are dealing with diesel, but they will soon make all forms of energy, such as CNG, LNG, electricity, etc., available at consumers' fingertips.  

Growth of Repos Energy 

Initially, Aditi and Chetan, the co-founders of Repos Energy, invested around Rs 50 lakh to start with a basic e-commerce platform from a modest office, working only two of them. They started out with a 1000 sq ft factory in Pune, then expanded to a 10,000 sq ft factory, and currently occupies three facilities totaling 3 lakh sq ft. 

Repos Energy Mobile Petrol Pump

Today, Repos Energy has a total of 2000 mobile petrol pumps, including 700 fuel entrepreneurs (individual fuel partners) and petrol pump dealers across India. They are operating across 300 cities in India. As the work expanded, the Repos Energy team also increased to a total of 500 (350 office workforce and 150 factory employees).      

Repos Energy Team

So far, the on demand fuel delivery startup has approximately 6000 unique customers and has delivered around 13 crore litres of fuels, specifically diesel. 

Talking about the financial journey of Repos Energy, the young entrepreneur Aditi Walunj revealed that the company made Rs 50 crore revenue in FY22, which crossed Rs 72 crore revenue mark in FY23.  

"We are expecting Rs 100 crores revenue run rate in the current fiscal year 2023-24 with an average EBITDA of 20-25%," told Aditi.

Repos Energy initially raised an undisclosed funding from their role model Ratan Tata, then raised Rs 50 crore from their family and Rs 15 crore as debt from ICICI Bank. The Pune based startup is looking to raise more funds for expansion and growth. 

Milestones of Repos Energy

In the journey of transforming the fuel distribution ecosystem, Repos Energy has been achieving milestones every year. In 2019, because of the successful implementation of 32 pilot projects for doorstep diesel delivery across India, the government of India came up with a policy for the same. In the same year, the co-founder, Aditi Bhosale Walunj was invited on Ted Talk to share her message on breakthroughs in the diesel Industry.  

In 2020, Repos’s RMPPs was especially made for Indian Army(DGBR) and United Nations. Which is considered to be a prideful achievement for the startup. 

In 2021, Repos had three national patents published for its innovations, as well as one with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In the same year, it was also Awarded the India Green Energy Award for its innovations.

In 2022, Repos received the National Startup Award from India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the same year, the startup was invited at VivaTech Paris (Europe’s largest startup and tech event) to represent India. 

In 2023, Repos co-founders were invited to participate in the Select USA Investment Summit by India and the USA embassy. 

Repos solving fuel distribution problems

"Over 30 crore litres of diesel are procured every day in India, of which 3 crore litres are lost during fuel distribution, resulting in an approximate $900 billion fuel loss annually”, claims Aditi.

"So, through Repos Energy, we have solved the dead mileage, Pilferage and spillage problems. We have also reduced the distribution time and manpower cost significantly," added Aditi.   

The Pune based startup is also replicating its model in foreign countries. They have already entered African countries. 

The revolutionary business aims to bring all the fuels- liquid, gas, or electric- under one roof and make them available at the fingertips through the Repos mobile app. Using technologically advanced Special Purpose Vehicles, the fuels are delivered to consumers' doorsteps. With this, India is moving fast towards a carbon-neutral future.  

Aditi and Chetan are inspired by one of the most influential philosophers, Swami Vivekananda, a quote that goes, "They alone live who live for others", and they are living by it.  

FAQs

 What is Repos Energy? 

Repos Energy is a Pune based on demand fuel delivery startup that is redefining the energy distribution system by making all fuels available at your doorstep with just a click on the Repos app!

How do I order fuel online? 

Download the repos app from the Play Store and then register yourself. Then, you are ready to place an order for fuel. It is as easy as ordering a book online. 

How is diesel delivery carried out?

When a customer orders diesel through the app, it is assigned to the nearest service provider. The service provider accepts the order and delivers the diesel to the customer's mentioned address.

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