Most IIT graduates dream of building the next fintech, AI or SaaS unicorn.Neetu Yadav and Kirti Jangra chose a path few expected. Instead of solving problems for urban consumers, the two IIT Delhi roommates decided to tackle one of India’s oldest and most disorganized markets: the buying and selling of livestock.Today, his startup, Animall Technologies, is valued at around Rs 565 crore and is helping to digitize India’s estimated $250 billion livestock economy, making it easy for dairy farmers across the country to buy and sell cows and buffaloes through a mobile app.
Two roommates from IIT Delhi with an unusual startup idea
Neetu Yadav and Kirti Jangra graduated with a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Delhi in 2016.Like many IIT graduates, they started their careers in the corporate world. Neetu worked at Citi as a technology analyst before moving to storytelling platform Pratilipi as a product manager. Kirti built her career in consulting, working with Nomura Consulting and later Penguin Random House India.Despite promising careers, the two friends were drawn to entrepreneurship.During conversations about the challenges facing dairy farmers in India, they noticed a surprisingly large gap.While almost everything from groceries to cars can be bought online, livestock transactions still rely heavily on local middlemen, word of mouth and brick-and-mortar markets.That observation became the seed of Animal.
A weekend project that turned into a fast-growing startup
Animall started in 2019 as a weekend project.The idea sounded simple: create a digital marketplace where farmers could buy and sell cows and buffaloes safely and conveniently.The execution, however, was anything but easy.Gaining the trust of ranchers for online livestock transactions was a big challenge. The founders had to spend time understanding users, improving the platform, and making sure it remained simple enough for first-time smartphone users.Trust in the platform gradually grew.Today, according to the company, there are more than 180,000 cattle for sale, while more than a million buyers and sellers have connected through the app.The startup has also attracted the confidence of investors, becoming a company valued at approximately Rs 565 crore.
Solving problems beyond technology
Animall’s journey shows that significant innovation is not always about inventing new technologies.Sometimes it’s about applying existing technology to industries that have remained largely on the sidelines of digital transformation.India is the largest producer of milk in the world and millions of families depend on dairy farming for their livelihood. However, the livestock trade has historically remained fragmented and largely offline.By creating a trusted digital marketplace, the founders hope to make livestock trading more transparent, efficient and accessible to farmers across the country.
What can students learn from their trip
For engineering students, the story of Neetu and Kirti carries an important lesson.Neither studied agriculture, dairy science or animal husbandry.Their engineering background taught them to identify problems, think analytically, and create scalable solutions—skills that proved valuable far beyond their academic discipline.His journey also reminds aspiring entrepreneurs that great startup ideas often emerge from real-life problems rather than trendy industries.Sometimes the next big innovation isn’t hidden inside a lab or a software company. It may be waiting in a village, farm, or industry that technology has overlooked.From sharing a hostel room at IIT Delhi to building one of India’s leading agriculture startups, Neetu Yadav and Kirti Jangra have proven that entrepreneurship is ultimately about solving meaningful problems and creating opportunities for millions along the way.Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information about Neetu Yadav, Kirti Jangra and Animall Technologies. Company rating and user metrics are based on publicly reported numbers and may change over time. This article is for educational and informational purposes only.