As far back as I can remember, I’ve always dreamed of startups. The idea of creating something from scratch—my own vision, my own dream—was exciting, almost intoxicating. But there was just one problem: I didn’t know how to make it happen.

I had plenty of ideas. I was imaginative, brimming with possibilities. But ideas alone don’t build startups. And like most people, I wasn’t born with a “how-to” manual for entrepreneurship.

So, I took the path that made the most sense at the time. I decided to learn by immersing myself in the world of tech.

I graduated from one of the top engineering schools in India - IIT Kharagpur. It gave me the foundation, but it didn’t teach me everything I needed to know to build a company from the ground up. So, I packed my bags and headed to Silicon Valley in California —the hub of startups—determined to learn the ropes.

My first stop was Oracle, the world’s largest database company. I thought, “If databases are at the core of every product, this is where I’ll build the expertise I need.”

And I did. But it didn’t take long to realize that knowing databases wasn’t enough. To build a product—and more importantly, a business—I needed to understand the entire tech stack, from top to bottom.

So, I took on different roles, worked on varied projects including stints at Google, and moved across Silicon Valley. Bit by bit, I pieced together the skills I needed. Frontend, backend, infrastructure—you name it, I learned it. Eventually, I became a full-stack engineer.

I thought I was ready. I had the knowledge, the tools, and the drive. So, I decided to take the leap and start my own company.

But the moment I started, I ran into my first big challenge: infrastructure costs. This was before the days of cloud computing. Back then, if you wanted to build and launch a product, you needed significant upfront capital. You had to buy servers, pay for licenses, and make massive investments—before earning a single dollar in revenue.

The financial risk was overwhelming, both for founders like me and for the investors we needed to convince. It was a daunting balancing act, and every decision felt like a gamble. But I wasn’t about to give up.

I started learning how to raise money. I dived headfirst into understanding investment term sheets, pitching to VCs, and the delicate art of securing funding. Along the way, I also had to learn marketing, sales, and business strategy.

It wasn’t easy. Every step felt like climbing a mountain. But I kept going.

And it paid off. I managed to build my company, grow it to millions of dollars, and eventually earned recognition and an award from the Inc. 500.

And then, everything changed.

The cloud revolutionized the way startups were built. Suddenly, founders didn’t need massive upfront investments. Cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud made it possible to rent infrastructure in a “pay as you go” model. Cloud vendors even introduced free tiers, allowing founders to build proof-of-concept products without spending a dime.

For someone like me, who had experienced the struggles of the pre-cloud era, this felt like a miracle. The financial risk for founders dropped dramatically, and investors were more willing to come on board because the stakes were lower. Now, anyone who could code could build a startup.

A wave of startups like Airbnb, Pinterest, Uber, Dropbox, Instagram, Reddit and many others emerged, leveraging the cloud to scale rapidly. I embraced this new world wholeheartedly, building my own startups on the cloud and consulting for others. I even became an AWS-authorized trainer for startups, helping new founders navigate the cloud landscape.

But just when I thought things couldn’t get better, Generative AI came along—and changed everything again. Just like cloud democratized infrastructure, Generative AI democratized software development. ChatGPT enabled people to generate human-like answers to almost any question. Soon, coding assistants began to emerge. Tools like GitHub Copilot could now write code for you. The barriers to entry dropped even further. Founders no longer needed to write complex code to build products. Low-code and no-code tools made product development accessible to almost anyone.

And then Amazon Q Developer entered the scene, simplifying coding even further. It could not just write code but even test it for you. The last mile of product development—the part that once required deep technical expertise—was democratized.

The playing field was leveled. The only thing now needed was imagination.

Today, I’m an end-to-end startup coach. I guide people through the entire process—not just the technical side from cloud to AI, but also business strategy, marketing, sales, fundraising, and most importantly, ideation.

All of this wasn’t easy for me. That’s why I want to make it easy for you.

I’ve worked with many startups and taught thousands of students. I have always received great feedback. I’ve earned top scores for instructor satisfaction and also NPS (Net Promoter Score) as reported in Qualtrics. These experiences fuel my drive to continue coaching and also building a thriving founder's community as part of my startup incubator.