Born and raised in a family of farmers in Telangana, Srikanth Bollapally describes his idea of work to be just farming. However, farming did not benefit his family much.
“There were so many challenges with the profession and very little profit. We were drowning in poverty and debt,” he says.
In 1995, he moved to Bengaluru to work with a relative there. “Floriculture was gaining momentum there and I decided to join my uncle. I worked for Rs 1,000 per month because I needed the money,” he says.
Srikanth could see there was immense potential in the business and he decided to take a leap of faith and do something of his own.
Without any financial support and little savings, he started to source flowers from farmers and trade them. In 1997, he opened a small flower shop in the city.
Wanting to start his farm, he later on decided to grow his own flowers. After accumulating loans from the government and investing all his savings, he started with 10 acres of land and has now grown to 52 acres of farmland.
Srikanth grows 12 varieties of flowers including Roses, Gerbera, Carnations, Gypsophila among others that are grown organically in greenhouses and polyhouses.
Srikanth’s customers range from wholesalers, retailers, wedding planners and others spread all across the country.
Srikanth earns a turnover of Rs 70 crore in a year, working with a team of more than 200 people from across rural Karnataka.
He says, “People, especially youth, do not look at farming as a profitable industry. But if you play your cards right, there is a lot of money to be made in this industry.”