Delhi barsati to HCL: 1976 microprocessor gamble pays off

Long ago in 1976, six friends in India had a big idea: they wanted to build a computer using a tiny electronic brain called a microprocessor.

Back then, almost nobody in India used computers, and there was no easy way to get money to start a business.

The six men used their own savings, borrowed money, and even sold a car to raise the funds they needed.

They started working in a small rooftop room called a barsati in Delhi.

Their first company was called Microcomp, and their dream was to build an Indian-made computer.

They did not have a licence to make computers, so they teamed up with a government company called UP Electronics Corporation, and from that partnership HCL was born.

At first, they sold a computer that had not even been finished — they only had a brochure and a pretend model.

Their first customers included two big universities and a company in Coimbatore, where they beat a much larger rival.

It took a lot of courage to convince businesses to try technology they had never seen before.

Today, that small rooftop start-up has grown into a huge global company with more than 223,000 workers in 60 countries.