From Backyard Poultry to Digital Platform
The Complete Origin Story: Five Acts of Transformation
Roots: Born Into the Industry I Now Serve
In a remote village in Tamil Nadu, a mother raised hens in her backyard. Not as a hobby. Not as a side income. These birds were the primary source of family income. They funded groceries. They covered school fees. They made possible what seemed impossible: sending her son to one of India's most prestigious engineering colleges.
I was that son. The first graduate from my entire family. College of Engineering, Guindy—a name that carries weight across India, a dream that rural families whisper about but rarely achieve.
The path seemed clear: build a corporate career, achieve "success." I followed it. Built enterprise ERP solutions for large corporations. Worked across UAE, Oman, Malaysia, and multiple countries. Solved complex business problems for clients who could afford anything.
But something felt hollow. Missing the village soul. The metro rush felt empty. Vague dissatisfaction without clear answer.
The Return: COVID Brought Me Home
The pandemic forced many things. For me, it forced a return. Not as defeat, but as recalibration. Back to my village. Back to my roots. Back to the questions I'd been avoiding.
That's when I spent real time with my friend Prabharan—a second-generation commercial poultry farmer. Progressive. Educated. Running a serious operation.
He was managing 7 lakh birds. On paper.
Seven hundred thousand birds. A ₹100 Crore+ annual turnover operation. 40+ staff members. Modern sheds. Professional farming.
All managed with pen, paper, and late nights.
I watched him struggle: Lost tracking. Wasted resources. Late nights after 12-hour farm days. No standardized processes. Zero historical data to learn from past cycles.
I saw the problem intellectually—tech person seeing tech gap.
The Dinner That Changed Everything
I shared Prabharan's struggle with my mother over dinner. She listened quietly. Then said something that changed everything:
"Mahane, the problems I faced raising those birds to feed you—he's facing the same, just bigger.
You got educated because of those birds. You have the skill to heal this pain. If you don't use it for farmers like him, like I was—what was their sacrifice for?"
That moment.
I found my IKIGAI—the peace my soul had been searching for. Where profession, passion, vocation, and mission converge:
What I Love:
Technology. Problem-solving. Building systems.
What I'm Good At:
Enterprise ERPs. Understanding complex operations.
What the World Needs:
Farmers drowning in paper. Losing money. Needing tools.
What Connects It All:
Mother's birds. The debt. The obligation. The sacrifice.
Not abstract debt anymore. Not vague guilt. Clear purpose. Right now. This is why I exist.
From that dinner forward, every choice became simple.
The Birth of PoultryCare ERP
In 2022, I founded PoultryCare ERP. Prabharan became an invaluable advisory board member and mentor, bringing decades of farming expertise to guide our development. We built it specifically for commercial poultry operations—understanding that technology must serve farming wisdom, not replace it.
It worked. Today, PoultryCare serves 35+ enterprise clients across 8+ countries (Oman, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria). We handle operations managing 12 lakh+ birds in layer farms, 800+ integrator farms, and feed mills with up to ₹1,000 Crore annual turnover.
But our success revealed a harder truth: We were serving the privileged few who could afford enterprise solutions. The broader industry—the 60% independent farmers who needed help most—remained trapped.
The Awakening: Understanding the Decade-Long Gap
Through deep research, I discovered the poultry industry is almost a decade behind other industries in technology adoption. Not just ERP adoption. Every automation practice. Every business operation standard.
The Stark Contrast
Other Industries (High Automation)
- • Electronics: Hundreds of phones/hour, 24/7 robotic precision
- • Automotive: One car/minute with automated assembly
- • E-commerce: Amazon processes tens of thousands packages/hour
- • Retail: Even ₹1L tea shops use cloud POS systems
Poultry Industry (Low Automation)
- • Humans cleaning litter daily across sheds
- • Humans loading feed multiple times per day
- • Humans handling dead birds, manual counts
- • ₹100 Cr+ farms with 40+ staff on paper registers
Why Agriculture is Always Last
I mapped the historical technology adoption pattern:
- Defense & Space (First) - Unlimited budgets, national priority
- Healthcare (Second) - Nobody bargains on health and life
- Manufacturing (Third) - Can price technology into products
- Retail (Fourth) - MRP system allows cost inclusion
- Agriculture/Poultry (Last) - And here's why...
The Limiting Equation
Farmers have:
- • No control over market prices (commodity pricing)
- • No control over productivity (biological constraints)
- • No control over demand/supply (can't ask hens to stop laying when prices drop)
So individual farmers can't afford R&D alone. Can't bear transformation risk alone. Can't pay enterprise prices for enterprise solutions. The trap is perfect.
The Bicycle: Assembling the Solution
And that's when Steve Jobs' bicycle metaphor saved me from despair.
"A bicycle gave humans the ability to transform from 47th rank to 1st in efficiency among all species."
Not through biological evolution. Not through individual strength. Through a tool that multiplied existing capability.
I asked myself: What are the components to assemble a bicycle for the poultry industry?
The answer hit like lightning: Every stakeholder.
Individual farmers can't afford transformation alone. But what if they didn't have to?
Bringing Every Stakeholder Under One Roof:
- Eliminates risk: Shared learning, collective experience
- Stops leakage: Direct connections reduce middlemen costs
- Pools skills: Farmers + Vets + Vendors + Researchers = complete expertise
- Makes affordable: Community approach, non-profit structure
- Enables customization: Specific needs met through collaboration
The Birth of PTIC
In early 2024, I discussed this vision with Prabharan and other associates. We named the theme "PoultryTech" and planned the PoultryTech Summit & Expo (PTSE) as our first pilot initiative.
We created PTIC—PoultryTech Innovation Council—as a Section 8 non-profit company under India's Companies Act 2013. Mission-driven, not revenue-driven. Legally prohibited from profit distribution.
Why PTIC Had to Be Non-Profit:
Trust Without Pressure
Section 8 removes future monetization burden. Free forever, legally.
Mission Over Returns
PTIC reinvests all revenue. No profit extraction to shareholders.
Pay-It-Forward Culture
Receive freely. Give freely. Communities grow through reciprocity.
Serve Based on Need
Not paying capacity. Profit-free means bias-free.
From Vision to Reality: PTSE & PoultryCo
PTSE 1st Edition (June 29, 2024)
Hotel Golden Palace, Namakkal
800+ Attendees | 30+ Exhibitor Stalls
I stood on that stage and announced PTIC's formation—our vision for bringing every stakeholder together.
Then something happened that changed everything.
A veteran farmer stood up. Mr. Singaraj—30+ years in poultry, founding chairman of Ponni Group, NECC Namakkal chairman. A voice the industry respects.
"We lose thousands of birds to heat stroke. The information we need exists—somewhere in fragmented WhatsApp groups, somewhere with experts we cannot reach. We have solutions, but no way to connect. The industry feeding healthy protein to billions is starving for connection itself."
The room went silent.
That wasn't one farmer's problem. That was the entire independent sector crying out through one respected voice.
That moment triggered PoultryCo's birth.
PTSE 2nd Edition (January 25, 2025)
Hotel Le Meridien, Coimbatore
800+ Attendees | 30+ Exhibitor Stalls
Chief Guest: Mr. Sivarajah, Mission Director and CEO of StartupTN
Special: PoultryTech Hackathon with StartupTN
Standing on the same stage where Mr. Singaraj had made his plea, in front of industry stakeholders and government officials, I made a public commitment:
We will build the bridge Mr. Singaraj asked for.
Not quietly. Not tentatively. Publicly. With government backing. With associations watching.
PoultryCo: The Answer to the Plea
As founder of PoultryCare ERP, I'm a tech stakeholder in this industry. When PTIC formed, it made sense for me to lead the PoultryCo initiative—proving what one committed stakeholder can achieve.
In September 2025, five computer science students from KSR College joined us for a 6-month commitment, along with a junior developer coordinator. We're using AI-first development (Cursor + Claude) and modern technology (Expo, React Native, Next.js, Supabase, AWS SES).
Three farmer associations have partnered with us: TNPFA, BCC, and PFRC. We're in discussions with five Farmer Producer Organizations.
Design Philosophy:
- • Simplest version of complex enterprise tools
- • Free forever (PTIC mission enables sustainability)
- • Mobile-first (accessible in rural areas with basic smartphones)
- • Multi-language (Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English)
- • Trust-first (verification systems, quality controls)
PTSE 3rd Edition (February 2026): Promise Fulfillment
This isn't just an app launch. This is a promise fulfilled.
From veteran farmer's plea (June 2024) → to public commitment (January 2025) → to platform delivery (February 2026).
The demonstration will prove: We listened. We built. We're delivering.
Timeline at a Glance
Born into farming family, mother's poultry funds education through CEG
COVID return to village, meet Prabharan, observe 7 lakh birds on paper
Founded PoultryCare ERP (Prabharan as advisory board member/mentor)
PoultryCare grows to 35+ clients, 8+ countries, ₹1,000 Cr operations
PTIC discussions begin with Prabharan and associates
PTSE 1st Edition, Namakkal - Mr. Singaraj's plea, PTIC announced
PTIC officially formed (Section 8 non-profit)
PTSE 2nd Edition, Coimbatore - Public promise with StartupTN
5 CS students from KSR College join development team
20% complete - foundation, auth, functional modules operational
PTSE 3rd Edition - Platform launch, promise fulfilled
This is My Debt to the Birds My Mother Raised
She invested in my future through her poultry. Those backyard hens funded the education that built my career—first through international corporations, then through PoultryCare ERP serving 35+ clients globally.
Now I invest in the industry's future through PoultryCo. Leading this PTIC initiative as a tech stakeholder, proving what's possible when one person commits to transforming their entire industry.
It's not charity—it's obligation.
It's not business—it's profession in service of profession.
Join the Transformation
From one farmer's plea to industry transformation. From backyard birds to digital platform. This is our story. Now help us write the next chapter—yours.