How a 22-Year-Old Built a Tech Company in Kerala

Ashik K I

Founder & CEO, TechnoTaLim

22 years old • Chavakkad, Thrissur, Kerala

It Started with a Phone

He didn't have a laptop. He didn't have a computer. Coming from a middle-class family, those weren't options. But during the COVID-19 lockdown, he got his first phone — a second-hand Motorola with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. It wasn't brand new, but it was his. And that phone changed everything.

It was 2020 — the year COVID-19 changed everything. Ashik had just finished his 10th class exams in Edakkazhiyoor, Chavakkad, in Thrissur, Kerala. He was 17 years old, stuck at home like everyone else during the lockdown. But while the world was on pause, something clicked inside him. While other kids his age were deciding between science and commerce streams, he discovered something that would change his life forever: coding, tech, and new technologies.

There was no course. No bootcamp. No mentor. Just YouTube videos, online documentation, and a second-hand Android phone. He taught himself HTML first. Then CSS. Then JavaScript. Then C, C++, and shell scripting. Each line of code he wrote felt like unlocking a new superpower.

But coding wasn't the only thing he explored. He had a childhood fascination with robotics — a story for another time. And when he got his phone, he dove deep into cybersecurity and ethical hacking. Using Termux and various tools, he found vulnerabilities in websites and reported them responsibly. Everything legal, everything ethical. That phone became his hacking lab too.

His main weapon? Termux — a terminal emulator app for Android. This was his entire development environment. He ran commands, wrote scripts, managed Git repositories, and built projects — all from a terminal running on his phone. Termux became his classroom, his IDE, and his gateway to the world of real development.

But he didn't stop at web development. He discovered Sketchware — an app that let you build Android applications directly on your phone. But that wasn't all. He used APK Editor, MT Manager, and other tools to reverse engineer applications, understand how they worked, and build his own. He was learning by doing, by breaking, by rebuilding.

He built apps, tested them, and even published them to the Google Play Store. His first published app was called LitBox — a tool app that he was incredibly proud of. It's since been unpublished due to some reasons, but that moment of seeing his app live on the Play Store? Unforgettable.

We still hear Ashik talk about the frustration of typing code on a 5-inch screen, debugging errors without a proper IDE, and waiting minutes for pages to load on a slow 4G connection. But he kept going. Because this wasn't just a hobby — it felt like his calling.

Building Websites on a 5-Inch Screen

When people hear that he built his first websites on a phone, they don't believe it. But it's true.

He used apps like Acode and Termux to write and test code. He learned Git on his phone. He deployed projects from his phone. His Motorola became his workstation, his classroom, and his gateway to the world of technology.

Later in 2022, he upgraded to a Realme 9 — 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, still 4G. Just a normal phone, but with more memory and faster processing. The fundamentals remained the same: he was still building everything on a phone.

He built websites for himself. He built small applications. He experimented with everything he could get his hands on. Each project taught him something new. Each failure made him better.

His First Real Client: An E-commerce Project

The first time someone paid him for his work, he was still coding on his Motorola phone.

It was an e-commerce application called X-Targo. He remembers being nervous — this wasn't a practice project. This was real. Someone was trusting him with their business, their money, their vision.

He built the entire project on his phone. Designed it on his phone. Tested it on his phone. Deployed it from his phone. The complete work — start to finish — done on a 4GB RAM Motorola.

And when that payment came through, it wasn't just money. It was validation. It was proof that a self-taught kid from a middle-class family in Chavakkad could compete with developers who had expensive laptops and computer science degrees. With the profit from this project, he bought his Realme 9 — his next tool in this journey.

That project taught him more than any course ever could. It taught him client communication, deadline management, and the importance of delivering quality work — no matter what tools you have.

Building Talim AI

As he grew as a developer, he started dreaming bigger. He wanted to build something of his own — not just client work, but a product that could make a difference.

That's when he built Talim AI — an advanced learning and educational AI application with many unique features. It was designed to make education accessible, personalized, and intelligent.

He built the first phase entirely on his phone. Yes, an AI application, built on a mobile device. Later, when he got his MacBook at 20, he developed version 3.0 with more advanced features and better architecture.

Talim AI brought him many recognitions. He got selected for multiple national and international programs. He won prizes in competitions. It opened doors he never knew existed.

Unfortunately, Talim AI had to be discontinued later due to various reasons. But the lessons he learned while building it were invaluable — from AI integration to user experience, from scaling challenges to product management.

Sometimes, the projects that don't survive teach us the most.

Recognition & Programs

Thanks to Talim AI and his other work, he was selected for multiple national and international programs. He won prizes in competitions. He got opportunities to showcase his skills on bigger stages.

These achievements weren't handed to him. No one opened doors for him because of connections or privilege. He earned every single opportunity through late nights, endless learning, and refusing to give up when things got hard.

His First Laptop at 20

For years, he managed everything on a phone. Years of building websites, applications, and even an AI product on a device most people only use for Instagram and WhatsApp.

Then, at 20 years old, he finally got his first laptop: a MacBook.

He still talks about the feeling of opening it for the first time. The keyboard. The screen. The speed. It felt like going from a bicycle to a sports car. Suddenly, everything was faster. Debugging was easier. Development was smoother.

"If I could build all of this on a phone, imagine what I can do with a MacBook."

But here's the thing: those years on a phone weren't a disadvantage. They were a masterclass in resourcefulness. They taught him to make do with what he had, to find creative solutions, and to never let circumstances define his potential.

From Solo Developer to Company Founder

At 19, he started building a team. He found like-minded young people who shared his vision — Ihsan M K, a talented designer, and Muhammed Sanweer K T, a skilled developer. Together, we became TechnoTaLim.

The name combines "Technology" with "Ta'lim" — the Arabic/Urdu word for education. Our mission was clear: build exceptional digital solutions AND teach others how to do the same.

At 21, we officially registered as TECHNOTALIM PLATFORM AND SERVICES LLP. The date was February 20, 2025. A company born from a phone, built by self-taught developers, run by a team with an average age of 21.

Why We're Sharing This Story

We're not sharing this to brag. We're sharing this because someone out there needs to hear it.

Maybe you're a student from a small town who thinks you need expensive equipment to learn coding. You don't. Ashik built a career on a phone.

Maybe you're from a middle-class family who thinks tech entrepreneurship is only for the privileged. It's not. He's proof that hard work beats resources.

Maybe you're self-taught and feel like an impostor compared to CS graduates. Don't. Some of the best developers in the world are self-taught. Skills matter more than certificates.

Your circumstances don't define your potential. Your mindset does.

The Team Behind TechnoTaLim

What's Next

TechnoTaLim is just getting started. Our vision is to:

• Build world-class digital products for clients across India and globally
• Train the next generation of self-taught developers through affordable education
• Prove that innovation can come from anywhere — even a small coastal town in Kerala
• Create opportunities for young developers who, like Ashik, don't have fancy degrees or expensive equipment

This is just the beginning. And if you're reading this from a small town, with limited resources, wondering if you can make it — you absolutely can.

A Message From Our Founder

"Start with what you have. Learn every day. Work harder than everyone else. Don't wait for permission. Don't wait for the perfect setup. Just start."

Thank you for reading Ashik's story. We hope it inspires even one person to start their journey — no matter what phone they're reading this on.

— The TechnoTaLim Team