Nimalan Balachandran immigrated to Canada in 2006 after the tsunami in Sri Lanka. He was certain that he wanted to transition into the technology industry and work as a software engineer. Since English was his second language, he decided to stick to accounting and finance at Seneca College and went on to become a financial advisor for Sun Life Financial.
After starting his own tax preparation business in 2008, Nimalan debated on franchising his business across Canada. But with time and resources under his belt, Nimalan went back to his first love technology and decided to dip his hands into creating a mobile app for taxes.
CloudTax is a web and mobile based platform for individuals to file their income tax returns with Canada Revenue Agency. The filing is done online using electronic data formats instead of printed forms.
”While there are several such platforms in existence today some of them even providing this service for free–they are limited by ease of handling and features provided. CloudTax plans to overcome these limitations.” – Nimalan Balachandran
Nimalan had domain experience in tax preparation, filing, and saw the negative reviews of other apps in the app store. He decided to take the initiative to create his own mobile tax app. His vision was to create an app that would provide a richer experience that felt like you were dealing with a real life tax consultant.
Why Nimalan Decided to Take Ship It
Nimalan had never built an app before. He applied to Ship It to learn what it takes to build a software product end to end from Poornima and the other instructors.
“I was so excited about getting started just like most of the entrepreneurs but didn’t know what to focus on. Femgineer’s Ship It Course helped me focus and walked me through a proven process for development.” – Nimalan Balachandran
What Nimalan Got Out of the Course
Nimalan admits that without the course he would have jumped into building, wasting a lot of precious time and money. What he loves about this course is that it stopped him from jumping straight into development instead, it taught him how to do customer interviews, create a worthwhile user experience, and do market research to ensure that there was a market for his product.
”Even though I was a non-technical founder and with a business background, there was a lot I needed to learn about starting a new venture. I am so glad to learn the process from the instructors in Ship It.”
Nimalan took the course in 2014, and since then he has quit his full-time job, built the Android app, and is now testing it in the market.
When we checked in with Nimalan in 2016 he said,
“I wouldn’t have come this far without your guidance! I’m so thankful to you [Poornima] and your team for showing us an overall picture of startup life and it’s challenges. With the knowledge that I gained from your course, I was able to handle challenges better than I would have on my own.”
Why Nimalan is Back for More in 2016
Nimalan is retaking the course in 2016 because,
“I want to put more of a focus on marketing, and learn the new techniques Poornima has to share. I also have been bootstrapping, and want to understand what it takes to fundraise from investors.”
If you’re a non-technical founder like Nimalan, looking to ship your idea, apply to Femgineer’s Ship It Course. Applications are due Friday February 12, 2016.
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