BUILT SOLO.
ACQUIRED.

In Class 9, I decided that I wanted to study Computer Science Engineering. That was where this journey really started.

I was an average student, but I wanted something more for myself. I put every bit of hard work I could into Class 10. My ambition came before the results.

In Class 10, students were separated into sections based on how they were expected to perform. I was in Section B—the group people thought would score below 400 out of 500.

I didn’t give up. I worked hard, scored 414, and surprised the people who had underestimated us.

My father lifted me up and told me I had won. Then he reminded me that this was just the first step.

I took the computer group in Class 11 because I still wanted to pursue Computer Science. But after my earlier success, I became too relaxed.

I scored 313 out of 600 and was only just passing some subjects. I had lost the discipline that had helped me before.

That failure didn’t stop me. It made me realise I had to put the work in again.

In Class 12, I began working hard again, this time with a precise target: the cutoff for engineering admission.

The papers were difficult and many students scored lower than expected. I didn’t want to use that as an excuse. I finished with 74% and a cutoff of 140 out of 200.

It wasn’t a great result or a terrible one. It was enough to take the next step toward my goal.

When COVID began, I couldn’t explore many colleges. I chose a tier-three college in my own city.

With my cutoff, I received a full scholarship to study for free. I got the course I had wanted since Class 9: Computer Science Engineering.

My family didn’t have a strong financial background. They spent everything they could on my education. That support made this opportunity possible.

Two years went by during COVID, and I felt I hadn’t learned much. I needed to start somewhere.

I joined a small nearby institute that taught C and C++ for ₹7,500. I learned the basics of programming and began exploring new things.

I found a few friends who were also interested in learning. Together, we entered intercollege competitions and looked for opportunities to prove ourselves.

At home, even the roof wasn’t properly protected from rain. Water would drip in different places. My parents still prioritised my studies. That is where I learned what hard work looks like.

Becoming the first graduate in my family meant much more than receiving a certificate. It represented years of my parents’ sacrifices, my hard work, setbacks, and the decision to keep going.

I had started as an average student with a dream of studying Computer Science. Holding the degree made that journey real.

My family didn’t have a strong financial background. There were times when rain came through the roof in different places. My parents still spent everything they could on my education.

Through my father’s and mother’s hard work, we now have a three-floor home, a new car, and a business. We have also started work on the next apartment project with six homes, with my contribution too.

These are our family’s milestones. The credit goes to my parents. They taught me what hard work means long before I could put it into words.

At the start of my third year, I got a full-stack development internship and worked there for three months.

Using that experience, I started attending interviews toward the end of the year. I was selected by the second company I interviewed with through college.

I was the second student selected across departments while still in my third year. It felt like I was finally finding traction.

On 11 November 2023, while I was in class, I had a thought: why couldn’t we start our own company?

I started Web Works with three friends. Our college supported us by providing an office setup.

The team expanded to six people. We took on three projects and completed them successfully. For the first time, I was experiencing what it meant to build a company.

My friends began receiving job offers. With family responsibilities to think about, we needed stability and decided to close Web Works.

I joined a startup alongside the three friends who had helped me start the company. I still wanted to build a business of my own.

After eight months at the startup, I had to leave. I was at home without work for two months.

Reading The Power of Your Subconscious Mind gave me a spark. I decided to leave home and look for work in Bengaluru.

I went through six months of training as a PHP developer. At the end, I couldn’t pass the final test and was rejected.

Around the end of my final year, I was becoming interested in finance, cryptocurrency, and investing. That curiosity led me to enrol in a blockchain programme from IIT Kanpur.

A rejection had closed one route. Learning was still opening others.

I moved to Bengaluru to search for a job. A friend helped with accommodation, and my parents gave me ₹1,000 for expenses.

I spent my days applying on LinkedIn. I borrowed my friend’s bike, used Google Maps to find IT parks and offices, and walked into companies to ask whether they had vacancies.

After three or four days, I had found sales opportunities paying ₹25,000. On the fifth day, a company I had applied to on LinkedIn called me.

I went for the interview, cleared it, and received a ₹40,000 salary offer. I joined the following Monday. I hadn’t just waited for an opportunity—I had gone looking for one.

The job didn’t work out. I went for lunch and took two hours without informing anyone. My phone had powered off, but I knew that I had also made a mistake.

Within five months, I was out of work again. I felt bad about my own part in what had happened and returned home.

My father told me he knew I would find another job. I wanted to study product development and UI/UX, but I needed to earn the money myself first.

I joined CloudFuze as a BDR for US sales so I could earn toward my studies. My English wasn’t strong enough for cold calling at that point.

After ten days, I had a mock call with a senior account manager. I was rejected because my English and accent weren’t ready.

I read books aloud, watched news and Netflix, listened carefully to the accents, and tried to repeat what I heard. I also studied the product. The difference between my first and last mock calls was significant.

On the thirtieth day, I was still given thirty days’ notice to look for another job. I reminded myself that two months of salary would at least help fund my studies.

Two days before my notice period ended, a senior HR manager called me. There was an opening in sales operations.

I already knew HubSpot because I liked exploring tools and learning how they worked. That curiosity helped me move into the Sales Operations Analyst role in my third month.

I managed HubSpot and worked directly with the CEO. If he raised a task or an issue, I could spend the entire day and night figuring it out and return the next morning with a solution.

He appreciated that approach. Over the next four to six months, I kept learning proactively and taking responsibility.

After my manager left, I was promoted to team lead. I managed four other people and represented the sales operations team at the annual offsite.

We managed the data and operations supporting around ten to fifteen sales representatives. I built strong working relationships with the US sales team.

At some point, I realised I could understand their accents and respond without the delay I had once struggled with. I hadn’t even noticed the change happening.

After about four months of handling the team, the pressure became a lot. I felt young for that responsibility and started thinking carefully about where I could contribute best.

I decided to be an individual contributor. There was too much on my plate, and I wanted to do one thing at a time well.

I designed the architecture for a tool similar to PandaDoc and guided a technical team of two on how to build it. I also built internal applications myself using tools including Claude Code.

I was already working with Clay, Apollo, Lemlist, and other tools to improve the sales team’s productivity. My dedication led to a GTM Engineer position—a step beyond my sales operations role.

Watching outbound reps make cold calls and try to book meetings sparked another idea: could I build a voice agent to do that?

At CloudFuze, I received the Stars Champion Award for May. The recognition mattered because of the journey that came before it.

Alongside my jobs, I helped companies through freelance work. Every project was another chance to learn and deliver.

I kept bringing technology, sales, and operations together. I never let go of starting my own company.

Freelancing kept me close to the reality of understanding a requirement, delivering work, and learning from the people using it. It also kept my ambition to start a company alive alongside my professional roles.

While building and working, I experienced serious health problems connected to my food habits and shift timings. I decided I needed to leave CloudFuze—the company that had changed the course of my journey.

The CEO personally asked me to stay. I couldn’t because of my health, but that request mattered to me. Early on, I had been given notice; now I was being asked to stay. I knew how much dedication I had put into the work.

When I left, I had three offers in hand. I could choose a role with a package and working hours that better supported my health.

I chose O6AI. I knew it was a startup, and I wanted to keep learning and help a company grow from the ground up.

Away from work, I also read: The Alchemist, The Art of Being Alone, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Atomic Habits, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, The Psychology of Money, How to Sell, The 5 AM Club, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, and many more.

While all of this was happening, I used what I knew about GTM, technology, and sales to build Voigent.

I did it entirely on my own, while working a full-time job. There was no dedicated team, no funding, and no one telling me what to build.

I worked during off-office hours, evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays. I handled development, the MVP, outreach, sales, and go-to-market myself.

Within three months, I had built an MVP, started reaching out to potential customers, and put the platform in real customers’ hands.

I developed my own GTM approach, reached prospects, followed up, understood requirements, handled objections, and sold the platform to customers in the US.

Working closely with experienced salespeople helped me learn how they qualified opportunities and moved deals forward. Through my outreach, I also got four additional customers to test the platform.

Not all the feedback was positive. Some showed me what worked, some showed what was broken, and some showed what I had overlooked. I didn’t see it as failure. I saw it as product data.

Customer acquisition didn’t end after the first conversation. It meant following up consistently, making requested changes quickly, fixing issues, listening, improving, and staying involved after the sale.

A product is only valuable when it solves a real problem for someone.

After taking Voigent through customer testing, improvements, and due diligence, I sold it entirely.

The people I connected with valued my approach and mindset. What had started as a product built alone in my free time became a real business with customers, usage, and a complete acquisition journey.

The biggest takeaway wasn’t the exit itself. It was knowing I could take an idea, build it from zero, find customers, sell it, learn from them, and carry it all the way to an exit—while working a full-time job.

Want to know the acquisition value? DM me. I’m open to sharing it.

The dream of starting my own company never went away. Alongside my professional roles, I kept freelancing and helping companies build.

WebWorks taught me how to start with a team. My career taught me technology, sales, and operations. Voigent taught me how to take a product from an idea through customers and an acquisition.

That experience now comes together in Raya Digital Labs Private Limited. The company is registered, with PAN, TAN, and GST in place.

This is the next step in an ambition I have carried for years: building through a company of my own.

The Voigent exit was a milestone, and now it is helping fuel the next product.

I’m taking the experience of building, selling, listening to customers, and completing an acquisition into a new product journey through Raya Digital Labs Private Limited.

The acquisition proceeds will help fund the work ahead. Along with the money comes a clearer understanding of what it takes to move from an idea to a product people need.

I’ll reveal the next product soon. For now, we’re back to building.