THE COUPLE LEFT LAKHS OF SALARY TO BUILD A DREAM FROM INDORE
How IIT-alumni couple Monika Ahirwal and Rahul Ahirwal chose entrepreneurship over comfortable careers and built IT SOFTLAB into a technology company delivering a world-class project for the High Commission of Sri Lanka, New Delhi
Known across India as the Cleanest City of India, Indore has yet another achievement to celebrate. An IIT Roorkee alumni couple from the city has made Indore proud through their entrepreneurial journey and contribution to the technology ecosystem.
There are some entrepreneurial stories that begin with a business plan, investors and a carefully calculated roadmap. And then there are stories that begin with a decision — a decision to leave behind certainty and choose a dream. The story of Monika Ahirwal and Rahul Ahirwal belongs to the latter.
An IIT-alumni couple with promising professional careers ahead of them, Monika and Rahul had the opportunity to pursue the conventional path that many professionals dream of. A strong education, successful careers and the possibility of earning lakhs in corporate packages offered them a comfortable and predictable future. But somewhere along that journey, they asked themselves a different question: What if we stopped building someone else's organization and built something of our own?
That question changed the direction of their lives. Instead of choosing the security of corporate careers, the couple chose entrepreneurship. Instead of a guaranteed salary, they chose uncertainty. Instead of following an established path, they decided to create their own. And instead of building their dream from one of India's traditional technology hubs, they chose Indore.
That decision became the foundation of IT SOFTLAB.
Building a technology company from scratch was never going to be easy. There was no established brand, no guaranteed pipeline of clients and no certainty about what the next month would bring. There were businesses to approach, projects to win, technologies to master, teams to build and clients to convince. The early journey was about taking one project at a time and proving that a company built in Indore could deliver technology that businesses could trust.
Over time, IT SOFTLAB began evolving from an entrepreneurial idea into a technology organization with capabilities across custom software engineering, artificial intelligence, SaaS platforms, cloud technologies, DevOps, automation, enterprise systems, cybersecurity and digital transformation. The company's philosophy was straightforward: technology should not simply exist for the sake of technology. It should solve real problems, improve experiences, increase efficiency and help organizations grow.
The journey also reflected the complementary strengths of its two founders. Monika Ahirwal, as CEO, brought the business and strategic perspective, focusing on growth, operations,
client relationships and the larger organizational vision. Rahul Ahirwal, as Managing Director and CTO, brought the technology and engineering perspective, leading areas such as product engineering, AI/ML, SaaS, cloud, DevOps, enterprise systems, cybersecurity and digital transformation. Together, they created a partnership in which business understanding and technology engineering could move together.
HIGH COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, NEW DELHI
A prestigious international project successfully executed by IT SOFTLAB
One of the significant milestones in IT SOFTLAB's journey came with the successful development and handover of the Sri Lanka Buddhist Pilgrim's Rest (SLBPR) digital system for the High Commission of Sri Lanka, New Delhi. For an Indore-based technology company, the project represented an important opportunity to demonstrate its ability to understand and deliver against an international institutional requirement.
The Sri Lanka Buddhist Pilgrim's Rest caters to Buddhist pilgrims travelling to important Buddhist destinations in India. The digital platform brings accommodation information, availability and booking functionality into an online experience designed around the needs of pilgrims and visitors. Following the successful development and handover of the system, IT SOFTLAB also received appreciation from the High Commission, marking an important moment in the company's journey.
For Monika and Rahul, the importance of that moment cannot be separated from the decision they made years earlier. The project was not simply another addition to a portfolio. It was part of a journey that had started when two professionals chose to leave behind the certainty of corporate careers and attempt to build a technology company of their own.
“We wanted to build something that was ours.” For Monika Ahirwal, entrepreneurship was never simply about leaving a job. It was about creating an organization around a vision of technology, business and customer value. The comfort of a predictable career could have offered security, but building a company offered something different: the opportunity to create something that could grow beyond an individual career. The challenges of entrepreneurship became part of the journey, and every project became another opportunity to strengthen the organization and its purpose.
Rahul Ahirwal approached the journey from the technology side. His belief was that world-class technology should not be restricted by geography. A company's location should not determine the scale of its ambition. For him, the real question was always what the team could build, how effectively it could solve a problem and whether the technology could perform reliably in the real world. The SLBPR project provided an opportunity to apply that philosophy to an international institutional requirement.
There is another element that makes the IT SOFTLAB story particularly distinctive. Monika and Rahul are not only business partners and co-founders; they are husband and wife. The same partnership that exists at home continues into the boardroom, where conversations revolve around technology, clients, people, growth and the future of the organization.
Building a company is challenging for any founder. Building it alongside your life partner creates a completely different entrepreneurial experience, where the successes and uncertainties are shared.
Their decision to build from Indore is equally significant. India's technology story has traditionally been associated with cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and
Gurugram. But the digital economy has changed the geography of opportunity. Technology companies can now build sophisticated products, attract talent and serve clients across markets without needing to be located in a traditional IT capital. IT SOFTLAB's journey is part of that changing landscape, demonstrating the ambition of a company that chose to build its foundation in Indore while looking outward towards national and international opportunities.
The company has expanded its technology portfolio across software development, AI, SaaS, cloud, automation and digital transformation, while its public profile highlights 500+ projects and work across 50+ countries. IT SOFTLAB has also highlighted its ISO 9001:2015 certification, reflecting its commitment to quality management, standardized processes, and structured service delivery. The company is also ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified, demonstrating its commitment to Information Security Management Systems (ISMS), data protection, information security risk management, and maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
But perhaps the most important part of the IT SOFTLAB story happened long before the international project, long before the recognition and long before the numbers. It happened when two people looked at the security of a corporate career and decided that they wanted to build something of their own.
They chose uncertainty over comfort. They chose entrepreneurship over a predictable salary. They chose to build from Indore when they could have followed a more conventional technology path elsewhere.
The Sri Lanka project became a milestone, but the real story was the decision that came before it. Because entrepreneurship is rarely about knowing exactly where the road will lead. Sometimes, it is simply about having the courage to take the first step.
For Monika Ahirwal and Rahul Ahirwal, that first step began in Indore. What followed was the building of IT SOFTLAB — a technology company whose journey has moved from an entrepreneurial dream to international institutional project execution.
And perhaps that is the most powerful part of their story. They didn't leave their careers because they had no options. They left because they wanted to create their own.
They chose Indore. They chose entrepreneurship. They chose IT SOFTLAB. And the journey from Indore to the High Commission of Sri Lanka, New Delhi, is one important chapter in a story that is still being written.
THEY LEFT LAKHS OF SALARY TO BUILD A DREAM.
THE DREAM STARTED IN INDORE.
THE TECHNOLOGY IS NOW REACHING THE WORLD.
What's Your Reaction?
