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THE COUPLE LEFT LAKHS OF SALARY TO BUILD A DREAM FROM INDORE

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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.

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Focus Realm Wants Every Hotel Shift to Prove Itself

Walk into most hotels and the standard operating procedure lives in one of two places: a binder no one has opened since orientation, or the memory of a supervisor who happens to be on shift that day. When that supervisor calls in sick, or the binder gets updated and nobody notices, the gap doesn’t show…

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Walk into most hotels and the standard operating procedure lives in one of two places: a binder no one has opened since orientation, or the memory of a supervisor who happens to be on shift that day. When that supervisor calls in sick, or the binder gets updated and nobody notices, the gap doesn’t show up until a guest complains — or an auditor does.

Focus Realm, a B2B software company building for the hospitality industry, is trying to close that gap by rethinking what a “standard” actually is. Instead of treating SOPs as content to be read and remembered, Focus Realm turns them into timed tasks that staff complete during a shift — each one generating photo and supervisor evidence as it’s done. String those together and a hotel ends up with something most properties have never had: an audit-ready service record, built automatically, shift by shift.

The company’s tagline says it plainly: Every shift, five-star.

“A binder can’t hold anyone accountable. A timed task with a photo attached to it can,” says Sehej Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO of Focus Realm. “We didn’t want to build another place to store the standard. We wanted to build the thing that proves the standard actually happened.”

The Problem Hiding in Plain Sight

Hospitality has one of the highest staff turnover rates of any industry — global estimates put annual churn above 40%, and India’s hospitality workforce is commonly cited around 30% attrition, even as the sector races to hire. Every departure resets the clock: a new hire gets handed the same binder, the same “shadow someone for a day,” and the same hope that the standard sticks. It rarely does, evenly or fast enough.

Focus Realm’s team distils what actually goes wrong into a chain reaction they call the six-pain cascade:

  1. Supervisor Bottleneck — quality only holds up when the right manager happens to be on shift.
  2. Ghost SOP — the written standard and the standard actually followed on the floor drift apart.
  3. Invisible Performance Gap — nobody can see who’s falling behind until it’s a problem.
  4. Attrition Bleed — undertrained, unsupported staff leave faster, and the property starts over.
  5. Star Rating Ceiling — inconsistent execution caps guest experience no matter how good the property is on paper.
  6. Audit Ambush — all of it surfaces at once, during the one inspection a hotel can’t afford to fail.

“Most hotels aren’t short on standards. They’re short on proof the standards happened,” Sharma says. “By the time a hotel finds out its SOPs aren’t being followed, it’s usually mid-audit or mid-complaint — never before it costs them something.”

Strategic Minimalism, Not Another Dashboard

Focus Realm’s founders built the company in direct opposition to how most workplace software gets made. Their read on the category: traditional platforms suffer from “feature dumping” — as much as 80% of what ships in a typical enterprise tool goes unused, burying the few features that matter under a pile of ones that don’t.

Focus Realm calls its answer strategic minimalism: build only what a hotel actually needs to run its floor, nothing else. The product ships as three purpose-built portals, not one bloated console:

  • Staff, mobile-first, built for the phone in an employee’s apron pocket mid-shift
  • Manager, for real-time oversight of who’s on track and who needs a hand
  • Author, where standards get written once and pushed everywhere at once

“A housekeeper, a manager, and the person writing the standard are doing three completely different jobs. Giving them the same screen was always the wrong idea,” Sharma explains. “We built three products that happen to share one brain, instead of one product trying to be three things at once.”

It’s a philosophy the founding team has carried since day one. “The conviction was always that most business software fails from having too many features, not too few,” says Sehej Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO of Focus Realm. For Sharma, the mission is personal as much as strategic — his mother’s years working in hospitality gave him a close-up view of how SOP compliance and staff training actually break down on the ground, long before he set out to fix it in software.

Co-founders Ali Electricwala (COO) and Aditya Mishra (CTO) round out the founding team. Mishra’s engineering philosophy mirrors Sharma’s product instinct: build only the intersection of what’s been committed to and what’s been designed — never the full superset.

The Bigger Bet

For Sharma, the product is downstream of a conviction he’s held since before Focus Realm existed. “The mission was never to teach hotels a new system. It was to make five-star execution possible for a property that’s never had five-star budgets or five-star staffing,” he says. “If a shift can prove itself, a hotel stops needing to hope its standards are being met — it just knows.”

About Focus Realm

Focus Realm is a technology company building purpose-built operating systems for the hospitality industry, starting with Focus Realm Hospitality — a service execution platform that turns SOPs into timed tasks with built-in photo and supervisor evidence, giving every shift an audit-ready service record. The company was founded by Sehej Sharma, Ali Electricwala, and Aditya Mishra, and is rooted in Jaipur.

Contact Focus Realm

Website: http://focusrealm.org/

LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/company/focus-realm

Phone: +91 93736 63098

Email: hello@focusrealm.org

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India’s Pet Parents Are Loving Their Dogs and Cats More Than Ever — and Feeding Them Worse, Says Vet-Founder Dr. Anshul Rawal

India is in the middle of a pet boom, and it is a young, emotional one. Nearly seven in ten Indian pet parents are raising a dog or cat for the first time, and two-thirds of Gen Z and millennial owners describe their pet as the most important part of their lives, according to a…

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India is in the middle of a pet boom, and it is a young, emotional one. Nearly seven in ten Indian pet parents are raising a dog or cat for the first time, and two-thirds of Gen Z and millennial owners describe their pet as the most important part of their lives, according to a global study by Mars Petcare. Yet veterinarians say the affection is not translating into the one daily decision that shapes a pet’s health more than any other: what goes in the bowl.

“The bond has never been stronger, and the nutrition has never been more confused,” says Dr. Anshul Rawal, a veterinarian and the founder of Pawpeye, an Indian maker of fresh, preservative-free wet food for dogs and cats. “Pet parents in India today buy birthday cakes, orthopaedic beds and matching raincoats for their pets. Then they pour a scoop of dry pellets into a bowl, twice a day, for twelve years, and assume that part is handled.”

A Generation of First-Time Pet Parents, Learning on the Job

The Mars study found that 69 per cent of Indian respondents are first-time pet parents, and that most puppies (67 per cent) and kittens (70 per cent) come home at three months or younger. That combination — inexperienced owners and very young animals — means the earliest and most formative nutritional choices are being made by people with no prior reference point.

Dr. Rawal, who says the idea for Pawpeye came from patterns he noticed during veterinary college, describes a familiar clinic scene. “A young couple brings in a one-year-old Labrador. Coat is dull, sheds everywhere, low energy, loose stools on and off. They have done everything right in their minds. They have vaccinated, dewormed, groomed. When I ask what he eats, the answer is almost always the cheapest large bag on the shelf, sometimes topped with leftover rice and dal. Nobody told them that was a problem, so they never questioned it.”

India’s pet food market is expected to cross USD 980 million in 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence, and dry kibble remains the dominant format because it is cheap to ship, cheap to store and easy to serve. Home-cooked meals are the other big category, and they carry their own risks: a 2025 survey by Mars found that 26 per cent of Indian pet parents feeding home-cooked food reported digestive issues in their dogs.

The Symptoms Pet Parents Have Normalised

Pawpeye’s own clinical observation data, gathered across the cases and customer histories the company has reviewed, paints a picture that Dr. Rawal calls “quietly alarming”: roughly eight in ten dogs show dullness or low energy, nine in ten experience excessive hair fall, and around four in ten are overweight or obese. The company also cites the widely reported estimate that as many as one in four dogs will develop cancer in their lifetime.

“What worries me is not the numbers themselves. It is that pet parents in India have accepted these as normal,” Dr. Rawal says. “Hair on the sofa is ‘just what dogs do’. A cat that vomits twice a week is ‘a fussy eater’. A dog that sleeps 18 hours a day is ‘lazy’. In a lot of cases these are the early, visible signs of a diet that is not doing its job.”

He is careful to separate correlation from cause. “I am not saying every dull coat is a food problem. I am saying food is the first thing I would check, because it is the one input the owner controls completely, every single day.”

Why Involvement Matters More Than Money

Dr. Rawal argues that the gap is not about how much Indian pet parents spend, but how little they are involved in the decision. “People will spend Rs 3,000 on a grooming session and Rs 300 on a month’s food, and not see the contradiction. Involvement means reading the ingredient panel, knowing what ‘meat by-products’ and ‘cereal fillers’ mean, noticing stool quality and coat texture, and changing something when the signs are wrong.”

His practical checklist for pet parents, which he shares in Pawpeye’s online vet consultations, is short. Look at the first three ingredients on any pack, and if a named meat is not among them, ask why. Watch the stool for a week after any diet change, because firmness and odour are the fastest feedback loop a pet gives. Track coat shine and shedding over 21 days rather than judging day to day. And treat persistent low energy in a young animal as a signal, not a personality trait.

Building the Food He Wished Existed

Pawpeye was born from the frustration of prescribing “eat better” to owners who had no better option they could afford. Nearly three years of recipe development went into a range of vet-formulated, human-grade wet meals for dogs and cats that use retort cooking, the same sterilisation method used for ready-to-eat human food, to stay shelf-stable without chemical preservatives.

“The goal was never to be a premium brand for a few thousand households in South Delhi and Bandra,” Dr. Rawal says. “It was to make fresh, balanced food practical for the ordinary Indian family that already loves its pet and just needs a better answer at the bowl.”

The company says it has served over one lakh meals to date and publishes what it calls a 21-day visible difference timeline, from firmer stools within days to reduced hair fall and improved coat within three weeks. Independent verification of those timelines is something Dr. Rawal welcomes. “Feed it for three weeks and look at your dog. That is the only test that matters to a pet parent.”

The Bigger Picture

For a country that is adopting pets faster than it is learning how to care for them, Dr. Rawal believes the next phase of India’s pet boom will be defined by literacy, not spending. “We have got the love part right. Now we need to get the involvement part right. A pet parent who understands what they are feeding, and why, is the single biggest health intervention any dog or cat in India can have.”

About Pawpeye and Dr. Anshul Rawal

Pawpeye is an Indian pet food brand founded by veterinarian Dr. Anshul Rawal, offering fresh, preservative-free, vet-formulated wet meals for dogs and cats made using retort cooking technology. The brand has served over one lakh meals to Indian pet parents and publishes a 21-day visible difference timeline tracking improvements in stool quality, shedding and coat health after switching to fresh food.

More information on Pawpeye’s approach to fresh, preservative-free pet nutrition, along with updates from Dr. Anshul Rawal, is available through the following channels:

Website: https://pawpeye.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc2lWHhzA3p/

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Apple Repair Centre: Connaught Place’s Trusted Destination for Genuine Apple Device Repairs

New Delhi | Reliable, Fast and Professional Apple Service in the Heart of the Capital In a city where millions rely on their iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, and Apple Watches for both work and daily life, finding a repair service that customers can genuinely trust has become increasingly important. A single cracked screen, a battery that…

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New Delhi | Reliable, Fast and Professional Apple Service in the Heart of the Capital

In a city where millions rely on their iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, and Apple Watches for both work and daily life, finding a repair service that customers can genuinely trust has become increasingly important. A single cracked screen, a battery that no longer holds charge, or a laptop that refuses to boot can bring an entire day to a standstill. Addressing this everyday challenge for Apple users across the National Capital Region, Apple Repair Centre has emerged as a reliable name in Connaught Place, New Delhi, offering professional repair solutions backed by experience, transparency, and a strong commitment to customer satisfaction.

A Prime Location in the Heart of Delhi

Located at Cabin No – C, Shop No 17A, Block 2, Shankar Market, Outer Circle, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001, Apple Repair Centre enjoys a strategic position in one of the busiest and most iconic commercial hubs of the capital. Connaught Place, known for its historic charm and bustling business activity, sees footfall from office-goers, tourists, students, and residents alike, making it an ideal location for a service that so many people unexpectedly need on any given day. For customers working in and around CP, or those simply passing through, the centre offers a convenient stop to get urgent Apple device issues resolved without having to travel far.

Comprehensive Repair Solutions Under One Roof

Apple Repair Centre has built its reputation around a simple promise: quality repairs, done right, the first time. The service centre caters to a wide range of Apple products, including iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, iMacs, and Apple Watches. Common issues handled at the centre include cracked or shattered screens, battery replacement and charging problems, water damage recovery, camera and speaker faults, software troubleshooting, and logic board repairs. Rather than offering generic fixes, the technicians at Apple Repair Centre take the time to diagnose each device individually, ensuring that customers receive solutions tailored to the specific problem rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Why Customers Choose Apple Repair Centre

What sets Apple Repair Centre apart in a market crowded with informal repair shops is its emphasis on transparency and skilled workmanship. Every repair job is explained to the customer in clear terms before any work begins, so there are no unpleasant surprises when it comes to cost or turnaround time. The technicians working at the centre bring years of hands-on experience specifically with Apple’s hardware and software ecosystem, allowing them to handle even complex repairs such as motherboard-level faults and intricate component replacements with precision. This focus on skilled, honest service has helped the centre build a loyal customer base that returns whenever a new issue arises and recommends the service to friends, family, and colleagues.

“Our goal has always been simple — to give every customer their device back in perfect working condition, without the wait, the confusion, or the inflated costs that are so common in this industry. When someone walks in worried about their phone or laptop, we want them to walk out relieved and confident,” says a representative of Apple Repair Centre.

Speed, Convenience, and Customer-First Service

In today’s fast-paced world, a device that stops working is more than a minor inconvenience — it can disrupt work, communication, and daily routines. Recognising this urgency, Apple Repair Centre focuses heavily on quick turnaround times without compromising the quality of repair work. Many common issues, such as screen and battery replacements, are addressed on the same day, allowing customers to get back to their routine with minimal disruption. The centre also maintains open communication throughout the repair process, keeping customers informed about the status of their device and any additional issues discovered during diagnosis.

Easy to Reach, Easy to Find

Apple Repair Centre has also made itself easily accessible to customers through multiple channels. Those looking to inquire about a repair, check pricing, or simply learn more about the range of services offered can visit the centre’s official website at applerepairconnaughtplace.com. For quick queries or to book an appointment in advance, customers can call the centre directly at 7042313084. The business also maintains an active listing on Google Maps, allowing first-time visitors to navigate straight to the shop’s exact location within the busy lanes of Shankar Market without any hassle.

Building Long-Term Trust in Delhi’s Apple Ecosystem

As Apple devices continue to grow in popularity across Delhi and the wider NCR region, the demand for specialised, trustworthy repair services has grown alongside it. Apple Repair Centre has positioned itself to meet this demand not through aggressive marketing, but through consistent quality of work and honest customer dealings. Word-of-mouth referrals, positive customer experiences, and repeat business have played a significant role in the centre’s steady growth since it began serving the Connaught Place area. The team continues to invest in staying updated with the latest Apple technologies, ensuring that even newer models and updated hardware can be serviced with the same level of expertise as older devices.

For anyone in Delhi struggling with a malfunctioning iPhone, a cracked iPad screen, or a MacBook that needs professional attention, Apple Repair Centre in Connaught Place offers a dependable, conveniently located, and customer-focused solution — proving that quality Apple device repair does not have to mean long waits, unclear pricing, or compromised workmanship.

Apple Repair Centre

Cabin No – C, Shop No 17A, Block 2, Shankar Market, Outer Circle, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001

Phone: 7042313084

https://applerepairconnaughtplace.com

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