The Lavvi Story: How It All Started

Every startup has a moment of inception—a specific instant where a frustrating problem suddenly demands a solution. For Lavvi, that moment didn't happen in a boardroom or a tech hub. It happened on a family trip to a beautiful hill station in India.

I was traveling with my parents, enjoying the scenic winding roads and the crisp mountain air. But during the long drive, a stark reality of Indian travel became painfully obvious.

The Glaring Disparity

Whenever we needed a restroom break, the difference in experience was staggering. As a man, I noticed that men would simply find a discreet corner or the side of the road to relieve themselves. It was an unspoken, culturally accepted convenience.

But for my mother and other women travelers, the situation was entirely different. Finding a washroom was a stressful mission. We would drive for miles looking for a petrol pump or a decent restaurant. And even when we finally found a public toilet, it was almost always too unhygienic to actually use. The lack of clean, safe, and accessible sanitation was not just an inconvenience; it was a severe restriction on their freedom and comfort to travel.

Building the Solution

That trip stuck with me. I realized that the problem wasn't necessarily that toilets didn't exist—it was that there was no reliable way to know where they were, and more importantly, how clean they were before walking in.

I decided to build something to solve this. The idea was simple: a community-driven map where people could find toilets, rate their hygiene, and help others avoid the nightmare of unusable washrooms.

Saheli Mode & The Road Ahead

Because women's safety and comfort were the very reasons this app was born, we built Saheli Mode as a core feature from day one. Saheli Mode filters the map to show only the highest-rated, safest, and most hygienic toilets specifically verified for women.

We are just getting started. Lavvi is growing, our community is expanding, and there are many more features coming soon to make public sanitation in India accessible, dignified, and clean for everyone. Stay tuned!