T Bala Murugan on Building Sollabs Tech: A Founder Q&A
This Q&A is condensed and lightly edited from T Bala Murugan's own written account of how Sollabs Tech started. Photos courtesy of Sollabs Tech.
Take us back to the start — how did Sollabs Tech begin?
I was born in 2004 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu — my parents are Thandapani and Murugeswari — and I still live and work here.
I started Sollabs Tech in 2020, on my own. There was no team and no outside money. It was just website and e-commerce projects, taken on one at a time.
What did those early solo years teach you?
Every project was also a lesson — how to scope work properly, how to keep a client informed, how to ship on a deadline without cutting corners.
The difficult projects, the ones that went wrong, taught me the most. I started treating them as stepping stones instead of setbacks.
How did the work grow beyond websites?
Referrals came in, and early clients came back with new work. That pulled Sollabs Tech into full software development — custom business tools, admin dashboards, automation for small and mid-sized companies.
Around the same time I moved into computer hardware: sourcing and quality-checking laptops, and building custom PCs to order. To keep up, I built a small team that shares the same standard for doing the work properly the first time.
2024 was a milestone year. Tell us about the award.
In 2024 my work was recognised with an award. The trophy itself matters less than what it signalled — that the direction was right, and that the effort was being noticed beyond my own client list.
Where does Sollabs Tech stand today?
In 2026 the business runs as two ventures under one name.
Sollabs Tech handles websites, e-commerce stores and custom software for businesses across India. Sollabs Tech Laptop & Custom PC handles quality-checked laptops, custom PC builds and support.
Between the two, close to 40 people now work on Sollabs Tech projects.
What do you credit the growth to?
It was not overnight, and it was not one lucky break. Consistency, learning from every project, staying steady when things went wrong, and the willingness to keep going when progress felt slow — that is what actually moved things forward.
What would you tell someone starting with nothing but an idea?
That a real company can be built from little more than an idea and the discipline to work at it. I am proof that you do not need to start with capital or connections.
Start with the work in front of you, do it properly, and let it compound.
What is next?
I treat where we are now as a starting point, not a finish line. The goal is to keep building stronger businesses from Madurai, create more jobs locally, and show other first-time founders what is possible.
