My most important year of High School was the one in which I wasnt in school.
I attended a regular high school for 9th and 10th (almost skipped them too lol) grade while doing my work.
But I decided to drop out for a year to build my hardware startup full-time.
I was also pursued an open curriculum in senior grade Physics and Maths. I rejoined school as an 11th grader in 2026.
That year outside the classroom changed my trajectory completely.
I learned things I might have not learned sitting in class — how to source components
in Delhi's chaotic markets, how to debug a PCB at midnight, how to pitch to VCs
who've seen it all, and how to keep going when nothing works.
“Every moonshot project starts with a PVC prototype. The best engineering begins with curiosity.”
I built my first serious engineering project — a 10-foot industrial scrubber — at age 14
with a team of 5 under CEEW mentorship. That project became the second-largest engineering
build in my school's history and laid the foundation for everything that followed.
Today, I'm building PraaNavya — India's first bio-based air filtration platform —
with a published patent, school pilots protecting 300+ students, and a clear mission:
to build globally scalable climate technologies through engineering research and entrepreneurship.
