Vibha’s ITT Kanpur stint gave her a lot of confidence

Women fought for their rights, she says

- Sharad Kohli

Women innovators know the feeling. You're in a meeting, or pitching a business idea, and are describing a technical point. But, the man is having none of it. He assumes you are not conversant on matters related to technology, and believes that only he can do the explaining. She rolls her eyes, and moves on. At least, Vibha Tripathi has learnt to.

"Gender bias is entrenched in our society at different levels," she says, stating the dishearteningly obvious. Yet, that hasn't stopped her. Vibha is the founder of Boon (formerly Swajal), a seven-year-old Gurgaon-based startup that has used tech to make clean  drinking water sustainable, as well as accessible and affordable for all. Her R&D team has developed an AIenabled IoT platform that is capable of monitoring the quality of the company's water purification systems in real-time, while alerting users on possible changes and maintenance required for the system. They started with water ATM installations in Rajasthan and Punjab, but today, clients include many commercial establishments such as hotels.