A Soulful Enterprise: Building Bridges from a ₹15,000 Grant to a Cultural Movement

Last month, while conducting a Training of Trainers (ToT) for the KODECET project (co-funded by the EU's Erasmus+ programme) at Nirma University, I had the opportunity to go on a heritage walk in the old town of Ahmedabad. This inspiring walk was led by a 20-year-old entrepreneur who is also a full-time MBA student at the university. His name is Prem Joshi, and his venture, Neev India, was born from an idea that some once dismissed as "bullshit."

Neev India

When I first met Prem Joshi, I expected to hear a story about a typical tech startup—you know, the kind with big funding rounds and even bigger promises of "disrupting" an industry. Instead, I found myself walking through the labyrinthine lanes of Ahmedabad's old city, listening to a 20-year-old MBA student who started his venture, Neev India, with nothing but a ₹15,000 grant and an idea some called "bullshit."

His journey isn't a blueprint for the next unicorn. It's a testament to something far more profound: how personal loss and a refusal to give up can forge a business rooted in reconnection, not just profit. This is the story of a young man building bridges between ancient traditions and artificial intelligence, between generations, and between a forgotten past and a vibrant future. This is the story of a soulful enterprise.

In a world saturated with tech start-ups aiming to be the next unicorn, Prem is quietly building a different kind of empire—one rooted not in disruption, but in reconnection. Armed with a meagre ₹15,000 grant and an unshakeable will, he has turned that idea into a profitable enterprise that is not just about business but about reviving the very soul of Indian culture for a generation that seems to have forgotten it.

His story is not one of privilege or overnight success. It’s a powerful testament to how profound loss, personal struggle, and a refusal to surrender can forge an entrepreneur with a vision that transcends profit margins. It’s the story of a "Gujarati local boy" who is building bridges between the past and the future, between parents and children, and between ancient traditions and artificial intelligence.

Forged in Fire: The "Not Giving Up" Attitude

To understand Neev India, you must first understand the journey of its founder. Prem’s path has been anything but easy. He speaks with a calm matter-of-factness about the adversities that shaped him, starting with the profound loss of his father when he was in the 5th grade. From then on, he was raised by his mother, a teacher, and the two of them lived together in a small one-bedroom flat.

Raised in a lower-middle-class family, Prem was not a star student. He describes himself as a "very naughty boy" who scraped by with 60% in his 10th-grade exams. The turning point came when he was sent to a hostel in Hyderabad for his 11th and 12th grades. That disciplined environment transformed him, sharpening his focus and igniting a new sense of purpose. This period instilled in him a core philosophy that he believes is essential for any success: the unwavering attitude of not giving up. He feels that with such persistence, anyone can make progress, even if it's just moving from "zero to point one."

Prem Joshi the founder of Neev India

This "not giving up" attitude became his mantra. When his five co-founders (who were part of initial set-up) left the venture for different priorities—placements, college life, other opportunities—he stood alone, keeping the door open for their return but determined to push forward. When judges and incubators questioned the scalability of his service-based model, he persisted. He pitched his idea relentlessly, learning to distil his complex vision into a powerful 30-second elevator pitch. It was this grit that convinced an incubator panel to give him a chance, even if it was just a small one.

Reconnecting to the Roots: More Than Just a Business

The idea for Neev India (which translates to "Foundation India") was born from a simple yet profound observation. Prem noticed a growing cultural disconnect where his generation was increasingly detached from its own heritage. He pointed out that many people, even his parents' generation, follow traditions like Ekadashi without understanding the "why" behind them. It's simply done because it's "supposed to be done." He also noted the irony that while Indian youth gravitate towards Western culture, people in the West are increasingly eager to adopt Indian traditions.

"Sheher ki Sair" (A Tour of the City)

This irony fuelled his mission. He wanted to create a platform that could "burst the myths" and provide authentic information, making Indian culture accessible and relevant to young people. The venture started by offering at-home classes in classical arts, music, and dance. But its most innovative service is a programme called "Sheher ki Sair" (A Tour of the City).

This isn't your typical tourist walk. It’s a carefully curated experience designed to solve two problems at once. The first is the erosion of family bonding, an issue Prem observed first-hand during his hostel days. He recalled watching his friends make their monthly calls home. The conversations with their fathers were strikingly brief and transactional: 'Hello, Father, I need money.' 'Okay, I'm sending it.' That was it. The phone would hang up without any real conversation.

"Sheher ki Sair" directly addresses this by creating a shared experience where families can explore their city's heritage together. The second problem it tackles is the lack of local pride and knowledge. The walks are designed to be eye-opening, using the city's living history to provoke thought and gratitude. Prem explains how the guides use the environment to ask powerful, reflective questions.

"During the heritage walk, we show them the small, old houses where the doorways are sometimes not even five feet tall, yet people managed to live comfortably without air conditioning. They see 70- and 80-year-old men and women still working, lifting heavy weights and going about their day. It creates a stark contrast to modern life, where we might see our own parents opting for the convenience of a delivery app instead of walking to the grocery store."

By contrasting the hardships of the past with the comforts of the present, the experience gently forces participants to appreciate their own lives, their families, and the resilience embedded in their culture. It’s a brilliant model that turns a simple city tour into a powerful tool for empathy and connection.

From Service to Scale: The AI-Powered Future

Prem is a pragmatist. Despite his passion, he is acutely aware of the limitations of a purely service-based business. He admits with brutal honesty that if he sticks only to his current service model, his venture is unlikely to survive in the long run. Drawing on his computer science background, he is already building the future of his company—a future powered by technology.

His vision is to build a comprehensive digital platform that complements his offline services. The first step is an AI chatbot named "Prabhu." This tool is trained to debunk common cultural myths by checking them against historical and literary sources. For example, if someone asks about the belief that one shouldn't cut their nails on a Saturday, Prabhu can determine if this is mentioned in sacred texts like the Vedas or if it originated from a different logic relevant to that time.

This is just the beginning. The ultimate goal is to build a brand so powerful that it becomes synonymous with Indian culture itself, much like "Colgate" is with toothpaste. By blending the authenticity of human-led heritage walks with the scalability of an AI-driven platform, Prem is creating a hybrid model that can reach a global audience.

The University as a Launchpad

While Prem’s journey is defined by personal grit, it was also nurtured by a supportive institutional ecosystem. Nirma University, through its incubation centre, provides a critical launchpad for students with entrepreneurial ambitions. The centre facilitates access to the SSIP (Student Startup & Innovation Policy) grant, a state government initiative that provides seed funding to promising student-led start-ups. It was this very programme that gave Neev India its first financial lifeline. However, securing it wasn't straightforward. During his pitch, a judge pointed out a major flaw in his team's budget. When asked who was responsible, Prem’s response—that the entire team created it and thus shared the mistake—impressed the panellist so much that he advocated for them. He requested that the incubation manager give them a small amount of funding just to get started, which resulted in their first grant of ₹15,000.

That small grant was more than just money; it was a vote of confidence. It was the spark that allowed Neev India to move from a concept to a reality, demonstrating how university incubation centres can play a pivotal role in fostering the next generation of innovators by providing not just funds, but also mentorship and opportunity.

Bhavesh Sarna and Prem Joshi - Behind Goddess Saraswati

Prem Joshi’s story is a powerful reminder that entrepreneurship isn't just for those with venture capital and polished pitch decks. It’s for anyone with a problem to solve and the tenacity to see it through. He started with nothing but an idea, a small grant, and an unwavering belief in the importance of our roots. By refusing to give up, he has not only built a successful business but has also started a quiet cultural revolution, proving that sometimes the most innovative path forward is the one that leads you back to where you came from.