Growing up in a lower middle-class family, money was always a concern in our small town, just 120 km from Delhi, India. From an early age, I took on various side gigs until my professional journey began—though my family never approved. For them, academia and securing a stable job was the ultimate dream, and now I understand their perspective.

Project 1 - The Roadside Candy Stall

My best friend at the time and I found a way to make some pocket money. Growing up, I lived in a joint family, and he was my next-door neighbor. On average, we managed to get INR 1 per day from our parents, grandparents, or uncles. After saving for 10-15 days, we pooled our joint capital of around INR 25-30 and set out on our mission: buying candy packets from a wholesale shop just a 5-minute walk from our homes.

Every afternoon after school, we’d set up shop on the roadside, laying down a small 3x3 sheet, along with a piggy bank filled with change. Although we had only a few customers each day, we gradually turned our initial capital into INR 50, and the ball started rolling. We treated it as a fun hobby for a few months—until our families realized this could affect our grades, and we were told to stop.

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking

William Butler Yeats

Project 2 - The First Big Sell of Small Money

Fast forward to 2005, I was in 10th standard. India had just begun to see the rise of mobile phones in the early 2000s, and there was something about them that fascinated me. I managed to get my hands on one for around INR 2,000, without my family knowing.

A few months later, while visiting a friend’s shop, an unknown person made an unexpected offer: INR 2,400, all in cash. Without hesitation, I sold the phone. That INR 400 profit became the stepping stone for my entrepreneurial journey over the next five years. The dog had tasted blood.

Opportunities don’t happen, you create them

Chris Grosser

Project 3 - Used Mobile Phones & First Big Loss of Small Money

Still in school, with a starting capital of INR 2,400, I began buying used mobile phones like the Nokia 3310 and 1100, reselling them for a profit of INR 100-500. On average, I sold 1-2 phones a month. What began as a hobby soon turned into an obsession, and my little venture became well-known among my schoolmates.

Sometimes, I even sold earphones separately, ensuring that every sale remained profitable. Within two years, I had built up an inventory of 2-3 phones. Then, my first business disaster struck—someone in school stole my Nokia 1100. With no one to turn to, and knowing I wasn’t supposed to be running this side business at school, I had to swallow the loss. Lesson learned.

Project 4 - Expanding Services: Phone Unlocks, Computer Drivers, , Media Uploads and First Milestone

In 2006, I got my hands on my first Intel-based, pirated Windows computer. I quickly became a tech nerd, spending most of my free time tinkering with the system. I crashed Windows countless times, and often found myself reinstalling it—sometimes twice a week. At one point, I had memorized the Windows key: yvgkq-b7qyx-wwpbr-m7t2r-pb8bm.

At the same time, the first generation of smartphones was entering the Indian market, with Nokia Symbian and Sony W series leading the charge. Through trial and error, I figured out how to install phone drivers on a computer to sync mobile games and songs with phones.

I also began offering phone unlocking services, using brute force by manually typing every code from 0000 to 9999. There was no concept of “phone bricking” back then, and I became quite skilled at unlocking phones.

My services quickly gained popularity in the neighborhood, and I reached my first milestone: buying a Sony Walkman W550 for myself—a symbol of how far my tech side hustle had come.

Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence

Colin Powell

Project 5 - College, Teaching, Mp3-Player Wholesale & First Big Loss of First Big Money

In 2007, I pursued a Bachelor’s in Computer Applications from Kurukshetra University. I had over INR 25,000 in savings, unknown to my family, and started college with high hopes. However, the first year was tough—I struggled to understand programming as much as I thought I would. But I knew one thing: buying and selling tech.

These were the early days of MP3 players & loud speaker phones arriving from China to India, and I quickly got involved. Almost every weekend, I traveled from Kurukshetra to Delhi, where I found a few wholesalers. I started buying MP3 players from them and selling them to Kurukshetra retailers at a markup. Eventually, the wholesalers offered me a small line of credit. It wasn’t big money, but it was enough for canteen snacks and beer—a college student’s essentials.

By my second year, I had become better at programming and started giving part-time tuition. My savings of INR 25,000 doubled to INR 50,000 through these side gigs.

This hustle supported me throughout college, but it all came to a sudden end in mid-2010. On one of my trips back from Delhi, I was robbed. I lost a bag full of Chinese gadgets, phones, and MP3 players—worth around INR 20,000. That day, I decided to quit this side business and focus on securing a good software job as my college years were ending. Fortunately, I got lucky and landed one.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit

Napoleon Hill

Project 0 - TCS iGnite, Beginning of Professional Journey

In 2010, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India’s largest IT companies, embarked on an experiment. Instead of only hiring B.Tech graduates traditionally associated with software and engineering, they began recruiting B.C.A and B.Sc graduates. They provided world-class training in Chennai, India, and sent us off to various projects. The catch? They paid us 1.8 lakh INR annually—around $100 a month after taxes in today’s conversion (2024).

Despite the modest pay, this opportunity laid a solid foundation for my career. Before this, I was hesitant to speak English, but the training instilled a new sense of confidence. I excelled at programming and decided to stay on as a trainer. Luck struck again when mobile phones found me once more—I joined the mobile app development & research team for iGrid. The projects were hacky but impressive enough to captivate major stakeholders, including top executives from TCS and special guests.

I learned a great deal in this role and in 2012, I left Chennai for Delhi. After that, I worked at Naukri.com, Hike Messenger, and founded Whatstime. Later, I joined Booking.com, founded and sold HueHello, and worked with Philips Hue, Peak Brain Games, consulted a few companies, and founded a few including GoodApp, Tutubi, and Oter.

I create products that are a joy to work on and a pleasure to use. I now consult startups and enjoy being a technical product manager. If you’re interested in working together, feel free to get in touch.