Aakarsh Garg had no plans to launch a startup when he came to Western in September 2024. The computer science student from Kolkata, India had already built an award-winning plant-monitoring device in high school, but founding a company felt like a distant dream.
“I put it off as something I might do much later in life because I never expected I would have the necessary skills or even the confidence at this age, as a student,” Garg said.
One year later, Garg is the founder of Sylvara, a plant care device that monitors soil moisture, sunlight, air temperature and humidity to inform personalized care recommendations in a paired mobile app.
His tentative aspirations flourished at the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, Powered by Ivey, where the programs not only helped him refine his product, but fundamentally changed how he communicates his ideas.
Garg’s venture sprouted from his withering houseplants. Despite regular watering, they didn’t thrive, so he started tinkering with technology to find out why.
“I looked up tutorials for every kind of sensor I could find – temperature, light, moisture – and connected them all into one device. Then, I built a simple website to visualize all that data in one place. That was my first step into leveraging tech to solve real-life problems.”
Student entrepreneurship begins with science fairs
The project, initially called Smart Plant, won first place at his high school science fair. In Grade 12, he and three of his friends expanded the concept into an agricultural tool by building a small autonomous tractor that plants seeds and plows soil. Their ‘Smart Garden’ project claimed first place in the junior division of the Smart Bengal Hackathon.
The plant care startup Sylvara has roots in the Smart Garden project presented at the Smart Bengal Hackathon by (L to R) Arnav Jhajharia, Aakarsh Garg, Aditya Dutta and Shriradhya Bihani. (Submitted)
Throughout the competitions, the same response came up from dozens of people who viewed the projects: “I would love to buy this.”
That piqued Garg’s entrepreneurial spirit.
“I could never stop thinking about launching a startup to solve plant care not just for myself, but for anyone who wanted their plants to thrive.”
The opportunity came sooner than he expected. In January 2025, Garg joined the Startup Challenge at Morrissette Entrepreneurship, an incubator program that guides students from idea to action plan. Through weekly workshops, he learned how to identify problems worth solving, validate customer demand, adapt solutions based on feedback and develop business models.
Garg found the weekly one-on-one sessions with business advisor Matthew Travis, BMOS’25, especially valuable.
“Just talking to him one-on-one and being able to share my ideas without fear of judgment gave me exactly the push I needed to keep moving forward,” he said.
Entrepreneurship programs refine student-led ventures
Garg decided to recreate and improve the Smart Garden project from high school, complete with an autonomous tractor. Travis helped him think strategically about the project’s scope.
Business advisor Matthew Travis (right) helped guide Aakarsh Garg from idea to business plan at Morrissette Entrepreneurship. (Submitted)
Garg concluded he would have to scale down before he could be in a position to scale up.
“I was set on a project for the agricultural industry, but then we realized that without the tractor, the device would appeal to many more home gardeners who want to keep their plants healthy,” he said.
Garg’s original Smart Plant project took a major leap this summer when he participated in the Entrepreneurial Summer Internship (ESI), a 12-week accelerator program that provides funding, coaching, production facilities and local networking opportunities. Successful entrepreneurs from across Canada led dozens of workshops on topics from marketing to operations.
“A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed I would have a startup with a real product, real customers and real traction. The ESI program helped me grow in ways I hadn’t imagined, through insights from entrepreneurs, friendships in my cohort and networking across London and beyond.”
– Aakarsh Garg, Entrepreneurship Summer Internship student
The ESI program also helped Garg navigate an essential business consideration – intellectual property laws. He discovered Smart Plant was a common name that would conflict with numerous other trademarks.
“The name change process was one of the most stressful for me,” he admitted. “It was hard to find a name that resonated with me as much as Smart Plant does.”
After whittling down a list of 250 names, he landed on Sylvara, a fusion of the Latin words silva (forest) and aura (life or essence).
Global teamwork meets in Maker Spaces
He and his high school teammates – now scattered across universities in Singapore and India – refined Sylvara into a compact device. It was no easy task with the expertise of his partners so far away.
The Sylvara plant-care monitor grew from an initial “contraption” of multiple sensors to a compact device after refinements made at Morrissette Entreprenuership. (Colleen MacDonald/Western News)
“I needed all the skills they have that complement mine. One of my friends is incredibly good at software development, another is very skilled with hardware design. I had never soldered anything before. He was guiding me in how to do it live over video when I took my first crack at it here,” he said.
While the distance from his teammates remains a challenge, it’s offset by Garg’s access to Morrissette’s Maker Spaces, where he can take precise measurements for 3D modeling, solder components and assemble them all into a case 3D-printed on site.
An additional software improvement allows Sylvara to recognize each plant in a user’s garden and generate a virtual map showing the care requirements for each one. The next iteration will incorporate a custom printed circuit board to make Sylvara even smaller yet, with the aim of having it ready for purchase within a year.
Key ingredient for startup success
The most unexpected transformation wasn’t in the device, but in Garg himself. He credits the personal development series led by Sunday Ajak, BA’23, with helping him advance essential skills for success as an entrepreneur. Four workshops covering self-awareness, communication, team work and public speaking had a profound impact on him.
Student entrepreneurship gets a launch pad with the support of a team of advisors at Morrissette Entrepreneurship, including (L-R) Western Accelerator manager Kiran Bains (left) and business advisor Sunday Ajak (right) guiding young founders like Aakarsh Garg. (Submitted)
“I was really bad at public speaking when I came to Western, even as I did the Startup Challenge. Just talking to one person at a time was the most challenging thing I ever had to do. Since then, I’ve grown tremendously and redefined the way I share my ideas and connect with people.”
Garg is also grateful to Western Accelerator manager Kiran Bains and entrepreneurship advisor Nick Fox for helping him grow both as a founder and as a person.
“Kiran’s wisdom always made every challenge seem possible, and her motivation kept me going even on the toughest days,” he said. “And Nick has taught me to never settle for ‘good enough’ – he always found a way to push me one level higher.”
Garg’s new skills were tested two months into ESI, when several participants traveled to Startupfest 2025 in Montreal to meet entrepreneurs and investors from across Canada.
“Looking back at how I could gather the courage to sign up to travel to another city and pitch my ideas to so many people is a big moment for me. I could not be more grateful that Morrissette has made it possible.”
Western celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 10 to 14, 2025, with events that include a startup showcase, guest speakers, a pitch workshop and mini pitch competition. Learn more.
