With the aim to connect local startup founders with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, Plus Eight’s Impact Scholarship helps founders establish a real, tested and viable business product.
Meena Srinivasan, Founder of Mini Steps, was recently awarded an Impact Scholarship which allows her access to 3 months coworking, our next startup founder bootcamp, a range of community events and an extensive range of member benefits and discounts.
When asked about her business, Mini Steps, Meena shared the following.
“Mini steps is about raising awareness about consumer behaviour and people’s impact on the environment through mini decisions that people make in their lives like buying locally to know the source of the product, instead of buying at big supermarkets to reduce their carbon footprint.”
“I want to empower more people by making them aware of how much carbon footprint they leave behind while buying a product, and what they can do to offset this carbon as well as encouraging local shopping. The main aim of the business is to make sure people know that small things we all do in our daily lives can actually add up to make a large impact.” She shared.
Discussing how her business journey began, Meena shared that Mini Steps started at her local farmers market in September of 2022, where she was selling monofloral honey and curry pastes.
“I'm in high school, so selling the products at local markets was a great way for me to talk to people and get to know the local community without diving into the deep end of entrepreneurship. In the past 6 months I have gotten so much insight into consumer behaviour and I have learnt about social media marketing, creating a website, and communicating with customers.”
When asked what her goals are for 2023, Meena shared the following.
“My goal for 2023 is to create an ecommerce platform for my business. My original vision when I started the business was to create a platform for local Western Australian businesses to sell their products.”
“When a customer pays at the checkout, the website has a calculator that shows how much carbon footprint was left by the purchase, how much was saved by buying from local businesses and an option to offset the carbon." She shared.
Meena hopes that as the business grows, she would like to use the platform to spread this concept of a 'local online shop' all over the world.
“My biggest goal for this year is to get this idea off the ground!” She concluded.
When asked what she’s most looking forward to getting out of her Impact Scholarship at Spacecubed, Meena shared that she’s most looking forward to creating a network of people who can support her and help her set up the business, to source funds and other resources to make the project successful.
“I am very excited to attend events, meet like-minded people and make connections through the scholarship!”
To stay up to date with Mini Steps journey and get involved, you can follow @mini._.steps on Instagram, and learn more via their website at www.ministepss.com.
If you have an early-stage startup or business idea and are not sure how to get the cogs turning, apply today for our Plus Eight Impact Scholarship. You can learn more and apply here.
