A plant
life cycle.

I'm Ranveer Singh Gill, 14, the founder of Viridian Botanicals.

It started with a grant. I'd learned about the SCAP grant and honestly didn't even research it that well, it looked like easy government money for a replicable business model. But as I kept going and submitted the letter of intent, I realized it takes so much more than that. So much more that I'm willing to do. What started as a shortcut turned into the thing I care most about.

The hardest part has been the toll. Realizing funding is genuinely difficult. Considering a pivot every other day. Balancing school and a life outside of it, all while people tell you to go back to studying and become a doctor or something safe.

But here's what I'm proud of: instead of hurting my grades, the business improved them. I learned probably ten times the knowledge I'd never have picked up if I'd stayed up grinding video games. I made real connections through this work. And I changed, from an unathletic, careless, low-grades Grade 7 kid with no plan for high school, into someone with direction.

I don't just want the greenhouse built and running. I want to keep building for as long as I can, while spreading the message that matters to me. More than anything, I want people to understand that I'm capable.