In the bustling tech corridors of Gurugram, 24-year-old entrepreneur Yug Bhatia is quietly leading a revolution not by launching a new smartphone, but by reimagining the ones we’ve already used and discarded.
At just 21, Bhatia launched ControlZ, a company with a deceptively simple but deeply impactful idea: renewing old smartphones to make them as good as new. Fast-forward to today and the startup clocks an annual revenue of ₹25 crores, having already given a second life to over 60,000 devices, primarily premium models from Apple and OnePlus.
The Vision Behind ControlZ
Born and brought up in Gurugram, Bhatia didn’t take the beaten path. Instead of jumping into the crowded market of new gadgets, he saw value in what others overlooked old smartphones.
Founded in 2020, ControlZ takes a component-level renewal approach. Unlike basic repair shops that just replace broken screens or batteries, Bhatia’s team works on deep diagnostics and refurbishing. This means their engineers restore 80% of a phone’s original parts, checking everything from battery life and speaker quality to display calibration. Any degraded part is swapped only when necessary.
What emerges from this process is a phone that not only looks new but performs like new, backed by rigorous quality standards and cutting-edge diagnostic tools all housed in a high-tech “Renew Hub” in Gurugram, surrounded by bamboo trees and equipped with ISO Class 7 cleanrooms and AI-powered systems.
Sustainability at the Core
ControlZ is not just a business venture; it’s also an environmental statement. Manufacturing a single new smartphone emits significant carbon and e-waste. Bhatia’s model helps cut these emissions by extending the life cycle of devices, offering customers phones at up to 60% lower prices than new models.
“It’s not just about affordability,” says Bhatia. “It’s about changing the way we consume technology making it more conscious and circular.”
From Startup to Scaling Up
Starting with a small team and modest resources, ControlZ has now grown into a well-oiled operation. The company is on track to refurbish 6 lakh smartphones annually, with plans to build an in-house R&D division to further enhance its processes.
With a mission to hit a ₹100 crore turnover in the coming years, ControlZ is eyeing scale without losing focus on quality a rare balance in the fast-paced tech refurb industry.
Yug Bhatia : Inspiration for a Generation
Yug Bhatia’s story stands out not because he built a ₹25 crore business so young, but because he did it with a solution-oriented mindset, addressing a real and growing problem: e-waste and the need for affordable technology.
As Bhatia and his team continue to fine-tune their ecosystem, ControlZ represents something bigger than just refurbished phones it’s a blueprint for sustainable tech entrepreneurship in India.
In an era dominated by fast upgrades and faster obsolescence, Bhatia reminds us that sometimes, all it takes to disrupt an industry is to press Control+Z and start fresh.
