School Dropout Disrupts Lighting Industry, Brings Sunlight Indoors

While every parent strives hard to ensure that their children excel in school academics, Ishat Jain dropped out of formal education after 8th grade. It was because his parents had a different plan than formal education.

They wanted to expose Ishat to various books beyond academics and introduce him to extraordinary personalities in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. For Ishat's parents, this was a better way of raising their kids.

"None of us in my family, particularly my father, believed in the modern education provided by schools these days. As a result, I didn't receive formal schooling beyond the eighth grade," the Delhi-based young entrepreneur explained in an interview with Startup Pedia.

SUNROOOF Founder- Ishat Jain

Ishat's parents run a luxury modular kitchen interior business based in Delhi called Magppie. Celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sunil Bharti Mittal and others are on the list of Magppie clientele. 

Even Ishat's elder sister decided to leave formal education during her 11th grade to pursue her passion for health. She is now India's leading health educator, with over eight million subscribers on YouTube and a substantial following on Instagram. Her platform, the Satvic Movement, focuses on natural methods for healing without relying on medication. 

Ishat Jain was homeschooled and gained knowledge through research, reading up on entrepreneurship, and meeting industry leaders. His primary education was in marketing and brand positioning.

The Birth Of SUNROOOF 

SUNROOOF Team

While researching, Ishat stumbled upon a crisis the world was facing due to the lack of exposure to sunlight. A study examining daytime sunlight exposure and mood in UK adults found that an additional hour spent outdoors during the day was associated with a lower lifetime risk of depression. 

He realized that the issue demanded solutions, and coming from a family with a background in design and innovation, Ishat thought of coming up with a disruptive lightning product idea where people could be exposed to sunlight while being indoors.

Ishat further added, “I figured that sunlight is not accessible to everybody in the world because of two reasons - the location of the country we belong to and lifestyles that do not allow us to interact with sunlight. I wanted to start by providing solutions in Scandinavian countries.”

He spent another three years on research and came up with the idea of SUNROOOF, the world's first lighting technological system that brings the psychological benefits of sunlight to places with no access to natural sunlight.

Even though Ishat Jain’s plan to kickstart with Scandinavian countries did not come through because of compliance issues, in 2021, his father exhibited his luxury modular kitchen business in India Design (ID), one of the largest exhibitions for architecture and design.

SUNROOOF Product

The kitchen model had a SUNROOOF prototype, which attracted many celebrities and politicians. The exhibition drove massive engagement, bringing 5,000 inquiries for SUNROOOF. Ishat realized a surge in demand for the SUNROOOF product in the Indian market.

Conceived by Ishat in 2019, the idea of  SUNROOOF and product development ended in November 2023. SUNROOOF Founder Ishat Jain mentioned, “We set up a 70,000 square feet factory, kept refining our product, and now we are finally ready to launch SUNROOOF."  

It is a subsidiary of the Magppie Group, a 25-year-old family business specializing in premium designs for luxury homes with another innovative idea of wellness kitchens. 

SUNROOOF had a soft launch in March 2024 on its social media channels. The video attracted over 2.5 million views in just 3 day’s on its website and Instagram. The demand for the product made the team implement CRM Salesforce overnight.

SUNROOOF Product In Detail

SUNROOOF Product

Wellness-centric SUNROOOF owns a 20,000-square-foot showroom in Delhi, attracting franchise inquiries from 21 countries including Mauritius, Dubai, Africa, the UK, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Finland. And almost every city in India like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Amritsar and many more. The Delhi-based innovative startup has signed up for franchisees in Surat and Hyderabad already. 

The young founder claimed, “We have found a partner in Dubai who wants to take on the entire GCC market with the SUNROOOF product.”

The founder explained the product, “It is a special light console which has been made with the power of nanotechnology. It will make you feel like the light is reaching you from the sky far away. We have filed a patent for our product.”

It offers a range of products, including Classical SUNROOOF, Modern SUNROOOF, Louvered Window, French Window, Atrium SUNROOOF, Fluted SUNROOOF, and Arch Window.

SUNROOOF Product

The startup has a tie-up with international designers and architects from France, Ukraine, and Germany, SUNROOOF products change colours and intensities according to the day outside.

How SUNROOOF Functions?

When a customer reaches out to SUNROOOF, its sales team gets in touch with the customer to understand their needs. Once the customer shares the building plan, SUNROOOF’s in-house designers understand how and where to install the product.

The designers share their design with the customer for approval within two days. If the customer agrees with the design and the quotation shared, an engineer goes to the site to check the installation viability of the SUNROOOF.

Manufacturing and installation take around three months. With an average ceiling installation costing approximately Rs 5 lakh.

The Road Ahead 

Concluding the conversation, Ishat Jain mentioned, “We are planning to integrate vitamin D into our lighting system.” 

With India's expansion underway, SUNROOOF wants to open franchisee stores in Mumbai and Bangalore. The startup 

has stores coming up in Mohali, Punjab, in the next three months.

FAQs

What is SUNROOOF?

SUNROOOF is an innovative interior startup founded by Ishat Jain, based in Delhi. It transforms ceilings into virtual skylights using advanced lighting technology. 

What products does SUNROOOF offer?

SUNROOOF offers a range of products, including Classical SUNROOOFs, Modern SUNROOOF, Louvered Window, French Window, Atrium SUNROOOF, Fluted SUNROOOF, and Arch Window. These are customizable products for sectors like hospitality, commercial, and residential.