Success story | How a Chandigarh-based entrepreneur built a global tech company on trust
Started during the 2008 financial crisis, Tech Prastish grew from a small team bound by loyalty into a global technology company powering critical waste management systems.
Jaswinder Singh (Photo Credit: Special Arrangement) Written by Asmita Maini
For Chandigarh-based Jaswinder Singh, entrepreneurship was never merely about generating profit. Growing up in a business family, he learned early that business rests on trust, responsibility, and relationships. Those values would later become the foundation of Tech Prastish, the IT company he started during one of the most uncertain periods in the global economy.
A turning point during the recession
In 2008, while the world was battling a severe recession, Singh was working at a startup where he had joined as a lead. Several of his friends had also joined the company after he encouraged them to become part of the venture. But the recession hit hard, and the startup eventually shut down, leaving employees uncertain about their future.
For Singh, that difficult phase became a defining moment.
Even without confirmed business or financial security, he decided to take responsibility for the people who had trusted him. He brought the employees from the closed startup together and began working alongside them. What began as an act of loyalty and friendship gradually evolved into Tech Prastish.
“It was never launched with a massive plan or funding,” he recalls. “It started with trust and the belief that if we continue working honestly, things will eventually take shape.”
Nearly 18 years later, Tech Prastish has grown into a global technology company handling thousands of projects and developing software solutions that impact real-world operations across industries.
Learning business the hard way
The journey, however, was far from easy.
In the early years, the company struggled with a lack of guidance, compliance issues, financial planning, and manpower challenges. Singh admits that while the team understood technology and hard work, they did not fully understand the complexities of running a business.
Cash flow problems frequently pushed the company into survival mode. Important compliances were missed simply because the team was unaware of them at the time. He recalls learning about gratuity regulations years after the company had started and facing penalties related to ESIC.
The emotional burden of leadership also proved challenging. Being deeply attached to employees often made tough decisions more difficult. Around 2012, the company launched a product that turned into a major setback, both financially and emotionally.
“There were moments when the team felt completely broken,” he says.
Yet those setbacks became learning experiences that shaped the company’s future. The failures taught the team discipline, stronger systems, financial awareness, and the importance of long-term planning.
Finding strength through focus
In an industry known for intense competition, Singh developed a different outlook. Rather than viewing competitors as threats, he saw competition as a source of growth.
Coming from a village background, he says competition was always a part of life, whether in farming or family businesses. That mindset helped him focus not on copying others, but on continuously improving himself and the company.
Tech Prastish gradually discovered its strength by focusing deeply on one niche instead of trying to do everything. Around 2015, the company entered the waste management sector and began developing software solutions that transformed operational systems for clients.
Today, the impact of their work is significant.
Singh explains that if their software stops functioning, thousands of waste collection trucks operating across cities could come to a halt. That responsibility keeps the company alert and disciplined every day.
“It creates fear as well,” he says, “but that fear keeps us committed because our work directly affects people’s daily lives.”
The rise of the Tricity startup ecosystem
Over the years, Singh has also witnessed the transformation of the Tricity startup ecosystem. He remembers how isolated entrepreneurship once felt because of the lack of mentorship and guidance.
Joining organisations such as NASSCOM and TiE Chandigarh changed his perspective by connecting him with founders facing similar struggles.
According to him, the Tricity ecosystem today is far more collaborative, open, and mentorship-driven than it was a decade ago.
Innovation and the future
For Singh, innovation remains at the heart of the technology industry. He believes companies must continuously evolve to survive in today’s rapidly changing world.
Artificial Intelligence, he says, should not create fear among employees but should instead help teams become stronger and more productive.
He also believes young entrepreneurs should build businesses rooted in genuine domain expertise rather than blindly chasing trends.
“Ideas are everywhere,” he says. “But execution, patience, responsibility, and continuous learning are what truly matter.”
Having mentored hundreds of professionals and worked with thousands of clients, Singh believes the most successful entrepreneurs are those who deeply understand the problems they are trying to solve.
(Asmita Maini is an intern with The Indian Express)
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