“The system crashed. Again.”
That was the tenth time that day.
Ankit Sharma, a small-town tech enthusiast from Meerut, India, was no stranger to failure. Born into a family where careers in medicine and government jobs were preferred, coding seemed like a strange passion — one that few understood.
He studied Computer Science in a Tier-3 college where the labs ran on Windows XP, and internet access was a privilege. Still, Ankit managed to teach himself Python, HTML/CSS, and Linux using outdated PDFs and a borrowed smartphone. He once built his first website using a cracked version of Dreamweaver that he obtained from a friend’s USB stick.
In 2014, after completing his degree, he began applying for jobs. He faced over 80 rejections — most companies turned him down due to a
lack of English fluency, confidence, or pedigree. He took a ₹12,000/month tech support job to stay close to the IT world.
“It was soul-crushing. But I used every lunch break to read code and watch YouTube tutorials.” – Ankit
Then, he built a side project — a weather-based crop suggestion app for farmers. He published it on GitHub and shared it on Reddit and LinkedIn. Nothing happened.
One day, a startup in Bengaluru discovered it.
They called him in for an interview. He showed up in a borrowed shirt, shaking from nerves. But he explained his logic, his sleepless nights, and his love for clean code.
He got the job. And everything changed.
By 2020, Ankit had worked with 3 SaaS startups, learned React, Node.js, and cloud deployment, and began mentoring juniors. Today, he’s a senior full-stack developer working remotely for a Singapore-based fintech company, earning more than he once dreamed possible.
From Scraps to GitHub Stars: Lessons from Ankit’s Journey
✅ You don’t need a big name to make big moves.
✅ Side projects can open side doors.
✅ Rejections are redirections.
✅ Learning never stops — especially in tech.
“When the power went out during my first freelance job, I sat outside a chai shop and uploaded code using free Wi-Fi. That’s how badly I wanted to make it.” – Ankit Sharma
Ankit now runs a YouTube channel teaching tech in Hindi and mentors underprivileged students online. His story is no fairy tale — it’s the story of grit, Google, and going all-in.