“I never thought to start a business. Actually no one in my big family runs a business,” Kamal Budhabhatti the founder and CEO of Little and Craft Silicon says.

He adds that he initially came to Kenya for a job after completing his studies in India. When he was leaving India, he says there was a huge sendoff gathering by his family celebrating him getting a job abroad.

However, he says that when he started his new job, he realized that it was not as interesting as he had hoped.

By chance, where he lived Kamal made a friend who was an IT manager in a bank. He was looking for a software they would use for their company. Kamal at the time didn’t hesitate. He took up his friend’s project on the side. However, his employers found out that he was doing something on the side, they got angry and deported him back to India.

“I could not go back to India. What would I say to all those people who came to see me off at the airport?” Kamal Budhabhatti says. He decided to go to his sister and explained what had happened with his job, who understood and advised him on what to do next. Immediately after landing at the airport in India, he changed his passport and came back to Kenya to finish his friend’s project.

“From then on to 3 years down the line, life was extremely difficult,” Kamal says. He adds that he had very little income and would hardly survive. He states that there was a tree at Uhuru Park he used to go and sit under it every single day including days he had appointment with companies who would delay him.

“Through all the hardship, I knew something good would come up,” he says. 4 – 5 years after that, he got referrals from his first customer and revenue started flowing and the rest is history.

Kamal Budhabhatti was a guest at Founders drink up in January 2020. If you are interested in joining our growth accountability programmes, please email us on dream@wearefounders.co.ke