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Earning ₹10K as Bengaluru intern to starting tech firm in Tamil Nadu: CEO reveals salary details ‘nobody talks about’
The Tamil Nadu-based tech firm founder recalled that as an intern in Bengaluru, he shared a 2BHK with 3 others and survived on Maggi.
A tech founder and CEO has gone viral for providing a rare, transparent breakdown of his career earnings, moving from a ₹10,000 internship in Bengaluru to launching his own company in Tamil Nadu. Starting his journey in 2018, he turned down a higher-paying corporate offer to gain hands-on coding experience at a Bengaluru startup. His detailed roadmap, which includes surviving on Maggi, upskilling in blockchain at night, and securing high-paying remote roles, is being hailed by social media.
“I went from ₹10K intern to running my own company. Sharing every salary number since nobody in India talks about this openly,” Immanuel John wrote on Reddit.
He added, “Fresh out of college in 2018. joined a Bangalore startup as an intern for ₹10,000/month. Had a ₹25k offer from a service company. turned it down. Everyone thought I was being stupid. My logic was simple, which is that I wanted to write real code from day one. not spend 6 months in training.”
He then laid out a detailed picture of his professional journey. John shared that, as an intern in 2018, while earning ₹10,000, he shared a 2BK with 3 roommates and “survived on Maggi”. In 2019, he got hired full-time at the same company where he interned for ₹25,000.
A year later, in 2020, he started earning ₹35,000 and then ₹45,000 in 2021. The same year, he jumped to ₹80,000 in a new job. John recalled, “This is where things changed. I spent 4-5 months learning blockchain at night while still employed.”
By 2022, he was earning ₹3,50,000 monthly. At that time, he worked remotely for 1.5 years and also started building his own company on the side.
In 2024, he finally decided to change his career trajectory from employee to founder and devoted his entire attention towards his Tamil Nadu-based startup, Teckas Technologies. John shared, “We're now 9 people, clients in India, Europe and the US, 6 months of consecutive revenue growth.” He shared that though he is earning less than his last salary, his company is making steady progress.
In a blog recalling his journey, he shared, “Seven years ago, I was an intern earning ₹10,000/month in Bangalore, wondering if things would ever change. Today, I run a company that serves global clients and builds products that solve real problems. The path wasn't linear or easy. But every phase — the low-paying foundation years, the uncomfortable specialisation pivot, the global remote role, and the entrepreneurial leap — was necessary. Each one built on the previous.”
Founder’s advice to techies:
“If you're that developer sitting in a small apartment, earning ₹20K– ₹40K and wondering if things will change — they will. But only if you make them change. Start with one decision: learn that new technology, apply to that uncomfortable role, or start that side project you've been postponing,” John wrote.
How did social media react?
An individual posted, “Respect for the hustle. Btw, can you share apart from upskilling, how to show your work and potential online? For example, how were you noticed by that foreign company? Which might help others find better job opportunities. Thanks.” Another commented, “What suggestions would you give to a person going to graduate within 2 months, no offer, no internship in tech right now and coming from a below-middle-class family background?” John responded, “You are young, and you can take more risk , since the job market is dying, try building a micro-SaaS, pick a niche, find a hot problem, talk to users, validate, get to 0-10 customers, these are hard, and then you will figure out things on your own.”
A third commented, “Thanks a lot. Very few people tell this stuff openly. What does your startup do, btw?” John replied, “We do blockchain dev, AI agents for business ops and web/mobile apps as services and building a few products as well.”
A fourth wrote, "These kinds of posts keep me motivated. I was laid off last week from my job.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Immanuel John completed his schooling at Kamlavati Higher Secondary School and earned his B.Tech degree from Hindustan College of Engineering and Technology.
