Farmer's son from small Tamil Nadu village builds Rs 1.5-crore software business after quitting nine-year Chennai IT career & starting with just two laptops

Growing up in a farming family in Tamil Nadu, Eswaran Arumugam had seen how much a household's fortunes could depend on agriculture. But he had a different ambition. After spending nine years working at a software company in Chennai, he returned to his hometown and decided to build a technology business of his own. Today, his company, Yaa Creations, operates from Rasipuram in Namakkal district and has grown into a 26-member team serving clients across seven countries. The company undertook projects worth Rs 1.5 crore in 2025, marking a significant turnaround from its modest beginnings, according to a YourStory report.

However, the journey from a salaried software developer to an entrepreneur was far from straightforward. Starting with borrowed money, two laptops and a small project, Arumugam faced financial setbacks, struggled to find clients and had to navigate the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Who is Eswaran Arumugam? From a small village in Namakkal to software entrepreneurship

Arumugam grew up in Pallipatti, a village in Tamil Nadu's Namakkal district, in a modest middle-class family. His parents ran a small grocery shop, while his father also came from an agricultural background.

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Education played an important role in the family. Arumugam pursued a Bachelor of Science degree, followed by a Master of Computer Applications (MCA). His brothers also went on to pursue higher education.

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His career in technology began in 2011 when he joined a software startup in Chennai as a junior software developer. His first monthly salary was just Rs 3,500.

He remained with the company for nine years, gradually taking on greater responsibilities and eventually becoming a technical lead. The experience helped him understand software development, client requirements and project management, while also giving him the confidence to consider starting his own venture.

Health-related difficulties eventually forced him to leave Chennai and return to his hometown. What appeared to be a setback at the time opened the door to a different career path.

How Eswaran started Yaa Creations with Rs 1 lakh and two laptops

The idea of starting a software development company took shape during discussions with his brothers. While Arumugam had the technical expertise, he needed financial support to get the business off the ground.

An initial software development assignment gave him an opportunity to take the first step. He borrowed Rs 1 lakh from his brother, returned to Chennai, rented a co-working space for Rs 10,000 a month and bought two laptops. He named his venture Yaa Creations.

In the beginning, he hired a woman software developer at a monthly salary of Rs 30,000. The initial project payment and his remaining funds helped him manage the employee's salary and office rent. However, fresh assignments were difficult to secure.

The business faced another setback with the Covid-19 pandemic. As work dried up and operations became difficult, Arumugam returned to his hometown.

Covid-19 setbacks and Rs 5 lakh debt: How the entrepreneur kept going

In February 2020, Arumugam restarted Yaa Creations near his native village and hired two employees. However, the lockdown and business disruptions made it difficult to sustain operations.

With limited projects and mounting expenses, his financial position worsened. He eventually accumulated debts of around Rs 5 lakh while struggling to pay monthly expenses and keep the business running.

The situation also affected his family's finances, leaving him with little money to meet even basic household needs.

Rather than shutting down the venture, Arumugam decided to accept every project that came his way. The company took up assignments across website development, mobile applications, software solutions, surveys and other digital services.

This approach helped him gradually build a client base and bring in more work.

From Rs 3 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore: Yaa Creations' business growth

Yaa Creations' project earnings increased gradually over the years. According to the YourStory report, the company recorded project earnings of Rs 3 lakh in its first year, followed by Rs 7 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 30 lakh in subsequent years.

The business continued to expand its technical capabilities, moving beyond basic website development and digital services to more advanced software products and mobile applications incorporating artificial intelligence.

By 2025, the company had undertaken projects worth Rs 1.5 crore. Its workforce had also grown to 26 employees.

Arumugam has credited continuous learning and the willingness to take on different kinds of assignments for helping the company expand.

Namakkal software company gets clients across seven countries

Operating from Rasipuram, away from major technology hubs such as Chennai and Bengaluru, Yaa Creations has built an international client base.

The company has worked with clients in seven countries, including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Qatar and Germany.

Its assignments have not been limited to private businesses. Yaa Creations has also undertaken projects for public institutions, applying technology to address specific administrative and operational requirements.

One such assignment involved a student survey for Tiruppur Municipal Corporation. The project focused on Class 10 and Class 12 students in government schools, collecting information about their academic performance, subject preferences, reasons for poor results and plans for higher education.

The findings were intended to help identify challenges faced by students and areas where additional support might be required.

Another project was undertaken for Salem Medical College Hospital. The company developed a QR-code-based identification system for patient attendants to record visitor details and monitor hospital entry and exit.

The system was designed to improve visitor identification and access management within the hospital.


Inputs from TOI