Forging a Tech Ecosystem in the Hills
- Albert Schiller
- May 26
- 3 min read
My NoSmalltalk session with Prateek Narang
The leap from a conventional engineering career to founding a tech company with a deep-seated social conscience, rooted in the Indian hills, is rarely a linear progression. For Prateek Narang, founder of ColoredCow, this path was carved by an innate "entrepreneurial by nature" spirit, a stark disillusionment with traditional corporate success, and a moment of profound clarity found on a solitary cycling trip. His story is less about a meticulously planned business launch and more about an "accidental entrepreneurship" that organically evolved into a deliberate mission: to create tangible value, cultivate community, and redefine the geography and methodology of impactful technology development.
The Engineer's Detour: When Convention Hits a Wall
Prateek’s early career followed a well-trodden path. After studying computer science, he gained valuable experience at Tata Interactive Systems and was later the first employee tasked with establishing NCR’s Gurgaon development center. These roles provided a unique, ground-level view of business creation, far beyond his official duties as a Java programmer. He found himself "poking my nose wherever I was not supposed to," absorbing lessons in operations, HR, and sales. Yet, despite this rich learning environment, a critical juncture arrived where he felt he was "just hitting the wall and running on a treadmill. I didn't know what to do. I just knew that... this is not what I want to do. It was very simple."
This deep sense of misalignment, amplified by personal crossroads including potential relocation and impending fatherhood, led to a period of "a lot of questions and confusion." The turning point came unexpectedly, during a solo cycling expedition in the hills, accompanied by Bertrand Russell’s "Conquest for Happiness." The philosophical takeaway was transformative: "forget about the big plans and the startups... You just do whatever you want to do in a simpler and easy way." For Prateek, a dedicated coder, the natural inclination was clear: "there may be something related to coding." This insight became the foundational spark for ColoredCow.
Accidental Projects, Intentional Values
The initial foray into what would become ColoredCow began somewhat serendipitously, through connections with friends in the US. This "accidental entrepreneurship," however, was underpinned by values forged much earlier. Prateek recalls his college days selling T-shirts – not merely as a commercial venture, but as a way to foster community, using the profits to sponsor college events. This early instinct to link value creation with broader communal benefit became a guiding principle. "Once you create a value, people pay you back with value," he explains. "What you do with that value is something that... it's up to you. My way is that, you know, can I create a community? Can I share it with more people?"
This philosophy manifested when an opportunity arose to build software for the social sector, "Manage My NGO." It was another "accident," as Prateek puts it. While the product itself "didn't do well because I don't know how to sell. I know how to create," this initial, albeit commercially imperfect, venture established ColoredCow’s presence in a niche where dedicated tech solutions were rare. This, in turn, led to referral-based projects, building software for other organizations and providing the initial financial runway for his nascent company.
Laying the Groundwork: A Different Kind of Tech Foundation
The decision to ultimately establish a significant part of ColoredCow's operations in the hills, far from traditional tech hubs like Bangalore, was a conscious and defining choice. It reflected a commitment to nurturing talent from overlooked regions and building a company culture rooted in different priorities. Prateek’s journey illustrates that the drive for social impact doesn't always emerge from a grand, predefined strategy. Instead, it can grow organically from a dedication to one's craft, a clear-eyed recognition of personal dissatisfaction with the status quo, and the courage to pursue a simpler, more authentic vision for creating value.
This foundational phase of ColoredCow, born from a confluence of personal re-evaluation, philosophical insight, and unexpected opportunities, reveals a founder motivated not by conventional metrics of entrepreneurial success, but by a deeper imperative: to build something meaningful, sustainable, and in true alignment with his core values, even if that meant forging a unique path into the hills.
5 Lessons with practical values-
Prateek Narang's journey with ColoredCow, from a conventional engineering career to forging a tech ecosystem in the Indian hills, challenges the conventional trajectory of entrepreneurial success. It prompts the question: How can a deep-seated personal misalignment with the status quo, coupled with a philosophical re-evaluation, organically lead to the creation of a purpose-driven venture that redefines where and how impactful technology can be developed
Anyone else here feel like we need more stories like this in our feeds? Let’s normalize paths that don’t begin in Silicon Valley and still change the world. If you’re building from the margins, hats off, and let’s connect.