Balachandar Karthikeyan: The Indian Techie Who Found Success Beyond Conventional Paths Balachandar Karthikeyan, a 28-year-old Indian techie born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India, has defied traditional norms of success and forged his own path in the world of technology.
By Alex Bodra
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Balachandar Karthikeyan, a 28-year-old Indian techie born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India, has defied traditional norms of success and forged his own path in the world of technology. From a young age, Balachandar was passionate about technology and started learning hacking, software coding, and other tech-related skills from the internet and books. Despite being a poor-performing student in school and college, Balachandar believed that the education system did not align with his interests and aspirations, and he chose to pursue his own learning journey.
Balachandar's self-taught expertise in networking, designing, hacking, and software development earned him recognition in the tech community. While studying in college, he discovered a security bug in WhatsApp and reported it to the WhatsApp team. Impressed by his skills, the co-founder of WhatsApp gave Balachandar the opportunity to contribute to the platform, making him the only person from India at that time working for WhatsApp without having gone through the conventional interview process.
Balachandar worked directly with the co-founder of WhatsApp, interacting with him every day and discussing WhatsApp's roadmaps and platform improvements. He even had the distinction of being the first person from India to conduct a WhatsApp video call with a co-founder in the US. Balachandar's dedication and contributions were widely recognized within the WhatsApp team, and his work was praised by the co-founder in international media as well. The co-founder spoke about Balachandar's invaluable input, stating, "I have a very good friend and colleague in India. He gives me product ideas, and I talk to him every day. That is the best way to build a product for India."
When the co-founder of WhatsApp left the company to start his next venture, Signal Messenger, Balachandar joined him on his new mission. However, Balachandar did not stop there. He founded his own company, Bringar, in India, with the aim of offering an easy chatbot solution for small businesses. What started as an experiment turned out to be a remarkable success, with Bringar quickly gaining 25 million users globally, all without spending a single dollar on marketing or raising any external investment.
One of the most unique aspects of Balachandar's story is that Bringar is entirely bootstrapped and profitable, a rare feat in the Indian startup ecosystem. Balachandar's unconventional journey and remarkable achievements serve as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs and technologists in India and beyond. His story is a testament to the power of self-learning, determination, and innovation in the fast-paced world of technology. Balachandar Karthikeyan has truly carved his own path, proving that success can be achieved through unconventional means and a relentless pursuit of one's passion and vision.