Arjun Malhotra’s journey with HCL Technologies started in the 1970s and it was in the most humble settings. The infrastructure was just a spare room in his grandmother’s house. Five other engineers were in the team. He co-founded HCL technologies, which is now one of the leading tech companies in India.
India was a newly independent socialist country with a highly regulated business environment then. Work opportunities were limited. Computers were a rarity in the ‘70s. The concept of starting a business was daunting. And it was especially for those who were without generational wealth. Many educated Indians rather aspired to migrate abroad for better prospects.
Malhotra initially dreamed of a stable job and move to the US with it. He pursued a PhD and had worked for NASA. His career began at Delhi Cloth and General Mills (DCM). He joined a new team that developed calculators and microprocessors. However, the governmental restrictions paved the path for DCM to decide to delve less into technology.
Malhotra quit DCM along with their head Shiv Nadar and six other engineers in 1975 to start their own venture. Initially the new company was named Microcomp Limited. It mainly focused on teledigital calculators and microprocessors to fund their goal of developing computers.
Malhotra said that they pooled together money and started the company with a working capital of ₹50,000. The investment quickly turned into a decent amount and they started R&D into developing computers.
The Indian startup scene was fledgling then. Just a few companies made significant inroads in technology. Companies like Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro were in the services industry. And hardware was largely dominated by international companies like IBM.
Malhotra and his team encountered a major obstacle then and it was the license mafia. They were naïve and the government had limited licenses to manufacture computers to public sector companies only. A public sector company approached them with a license and seized the opportunity. In August 1976 the Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL Tech) was formed.
