What began as a research project blossomed into an international startup for Chantilly High School student Brendan Li. His company VerdureVeil produces a biodegradable plant spray that he developed. It’s designed to help plants conserve water by reducing transpiration, the process through which plants lose moisture through their leaves.
The teen was inspired by drought conditions and growing concerns about water conservation. He began researching ways to help plants retain water, and the idea took root close to home.
“It all kind of began in my home’s backyard,” says the 17-year-old. “My mom’s a big gardener, and there were times during the summer when it would be too hot for all the plants to survive. Or even if they did, they wouldn’t be the best quality. I really wanted to find a solution to help the plants survive in those harsh conditions.”
Unable to find a product that met his standards for sustainability and effectiveness, Li decided to create one himself.
“I tried to look and see if there was some type of spray or product already doing this. But everything I found was either too synthetic, wasn’t sustainable enough, or just didn’t exist,” he says. “So I ended up taking matters into my own hands.”
From Science Experiment to Business
The result was VerdureVeil, a product that has evolved from a science experiment into a business serving more than 500 users worldwide. Li developed the spray while balancing high school, conducting research, testing formulations, and learning how to market a product. He went through numerous versions before arriving at the current formula.
“Trial and error was a big part of it,” he says. “I had to go through about 15 different iterations, testing different quantities and figuring out if it was too thick, why it was too thick, and how I could make it thinner while still getting the results I wanted.”
The startup’s growth has earned national recognition. Looking back, he’s still surprised by how far the venture has come. “It just started with a little idea,” he says. “I’m the scientist, the marketing director, and I’m still in school.”
While many student-led ventures remain classroom projects, VerdureVeil has found a far-flung audience, reaching customers across multiple regions and countries. A school in Singapore even adopted the concept for its gardens after learning about the project. Li credits that growth to community outreach, word-of-mouth recommendations and a willingness to gather feedback from users.
“Honestly, looking back on where I am, I’m pretty surprised with where this is growing,” he says. “I started with family, friends and community gardens, and it just kept building from there.”
Constructive Feedback Grows The Product
Feedback from users has helped shape the product. Some suggestions focused on practical improvements, such as portability and scent, while others confirmed that the spray was accomplishing its intended purpose.
“One person told me, ‘My plants used to die pretty often because I forgot to water them, but now by using this product, even if I do forget to water them, they still survive,'” Li says. “That was a really big moment for me because it made me realize people had actually integrated this into their daily lives.”
Li says the company’s mission is about more than entrepreneurship. The venture was created to address real-world concerns about sustainability and water conservation.
“There have been billions of dollars lost from drought conditions, and I’d really like to see this used on bigger commercial farms,” he says.
As he looks ahead, Li hopes to continue refining the product while studying science and entrepreneurship. His dream school is Stanford University. This summer he plans to conduct additional research through a university laboratory program.
“Originally, I just wanted to help my mom out,” he says. “But doing the research and building the product opened up an entirely new world of how much potential there was and how much I could do to help people.”
Feature image courtesy Brendan Li
