How TLINSY started, part 1: one small business and an unfinished conversation

I never thought helping one small business go online would shape the next six years of my life.

Where it began

Back in 2020, I had just joined college during COVID, and that was where I met Ajay Suresh, one of the strongest tech minds in our class. We would constantly discuss projects, technology, ideas, and how things could be built differently.

Then one day, my father's friend, who owned a catering business, approached me and said: "I want to take my business online. Can you help me?"

It started small. Google My Business. A website. Social media. Ajay and I worked together and delivered the project.

That one opportunity changed something for us. We realised that maybe we could use what we were learning to solve actual business problems.

From one project to many

Soon, referrals started coming. Camera resellers. Daycare businesses. Clothing brands. And several other small businesses.

We started freelancing and eventually brought some of our college friends together to help us manage the projects. We called ourselves Assistant Universe.

We made plenty of mistakes. Client management, timelines, pricing, development, team coordination: almost everything was new to us. But every mistake taught us something.

Taking it seriously

In 2023, we decided to take things more seriously and registered Accend Plus Technologies. Over time, we worked with more than seven clients, including international clients.

One of those clients initially approached us for a website. Later, they asked us something much bigger: "Can you build a customised ERP system for our business?"

We took the challenge. We designed it. Built it. And delivered it.

During that project, we also had conversations about building something much bigger together someday. But there was one problem. The investment wasn't ready yet.

Life moves forward

So life moved forward. College ended in 2024. Ajay started his professional journey, and I joined Grundfos.

Freelancing couldn't provide us with predictable recurring income at that stage, and we had responsibilities to take care of. So we chose our careers.

But the ideas never really stopped. We kept talking. We kept thinking. And somewhere in the background, that unfinished conversation from 2023 was still there.

The photo

At the time, it was just another client meeting for two college students trying to build something. We had absolutely no idea that this same connection would come back almost three years later and change the direction of our lives.

At that point, I thought the startup chapter might have to wait for a long time. I had no idea that one phone call, almost three years later, was going to change everything. And that call forced me to choose between the career I had planned and the dream we had never completely let go of.

That decision deserves its own story. Read part 2: the phone call that changed my plan →