When people ask me how I landed my current job, I tell them it started with a conversation on a moving train. Not a formal interview, not a LinkedIn connection, but a genuine human moment somewhere between two stations in the heart of India. This is my Jagriti Yatra story, and if you’re a young entrepreneur, freelancer, or someone searching for direction, it might just inspire you to take that leap.
What is Jagriti Yatra?
Before I dive into my personal journey, let me explain what Jagriti Yatra actually is for those who haven’t heard of it.
Jagriti Yatra is India’s largest train-based entrepreneurship program. Every year, around 500 young people from diverse backgrounds board a special train that travels approximately 8,000 kilometers across the country over 15 days. The journey covers both rural and urban India, stopping at various locations to meet social entrepreneurs, business leaders, and changemakers who are transforming communities through enterprise.
The concept is simple yet powerful. You travel with strangers who become friends, you witness grassroots innovation firsthand, and you return home with a completely different perspective on what’s possible. The program attracts participants from across the globe, though the majority are young Indians between 20 and 30 years old who want to build something meaningful.
What makes Jagriti Yatra unique is that it’s not just about listening to lectures in a conference hall. You’re literally on the move, experiencing the diversity of India while engaging with people who have solved real problems with limited resources. The train becomes a classroom, a networking hub, and a home all at once.
Why I Decided to Join Jagriti Yatra 2024
I joined the 2024 edition of Jagriti Yatra with two clear intentions in mind. First, I wanted to create YouTube vlogs for my channel “I am AK” to document the experience and share it with my audience. Second, and more practically, I was looking for clients for my web development and AI integration services.
I had no idea that these two goals would lead me somewhere I never planned.
As a freelancer, I understood the value of being in the right rooms with the right people. A train full of ambitious young entrepreneurs seemed like the perfect environment to find potential clients who needed digital solutions for their businesses. I packed my laptop, my camera, and a whole lot of optimism.
The Unexpected First Client
Here’s where the story gets interesting.
About a week into the journey, I was sitting with a group of co-yatris explaining what I do. I talked about web development, about building custom solutions, about how a good digital presence can transform a small business. I wasn’t pitching to anyone specifically. I was just having a conversation.
What I didn’t notice was that the catering staff manager was standing nearby, listening carefully.
When I finished talking, he walked up to me and asked a simple question. “Can you make a website for me?”
I wasn’t expecting my first Jagriti Yatra client to come from the catering team. But opportunity doesn’t always arrive in formal packaging. I showed him my previous work, explained my process, and we had a genuine conversation about what he needed. By the end of that discussion, he paid me an advance of five thousand rupees, and we shook hands on the deal.
I delivered his website, and he was happy with the result. That single project, born from an overheard conversation on a train, set off a chain reaction I couldn’t have predicted.
Building Momentum One Project at a Time
After completing that first project, word started spreading among the yatri community. The referral chain had begun, and it would grow in ways I never anticipated.
Jeetu Parmar, a fellow 2024 yatri with a travel business, approached me to build his website. I created JeetuHolidays.in for him, and he was thrilled with the result. Then came Ajinkya Kamathe, another 2024 fellow yatri who needed a professional site for his company Kamthe PMC Pvt. Ltd, which focuses on turning data into infrastructure. I built KamthePMC.com for him, and another satisfied client joined my growing portfolio.
Within those 15 days on the train, I had completed multiple projects and created over 12 vlogs for my YouTube channel. But more importantly, I had planted seeds that would keep growing long after the journey ended.
The Referral Chain That Kept Growing
The real magic of Jagriti Yatra revealed itself in the months following the journey. The relationships I built on that train continued to generate opportunities.
Nirav Pakai, one of my facilitators during the yatra, reached out to me post-journey. He needed a website for his active learning company, and I built TheALCWorld.in for him. Nirav was so happy with the work that he referred me to another client, and I ended up building MothersNest.co.in, a website for a gynecology hospital.
At the Pune meetup, I connected with Disha, a 2023 yatri who needed maintenance work for her existing website. I helped her out, and through her referral, I landed a project for a classical dance academy. I built SanchayKathak.com, adding another creative project to my portfolio.
The chain continued. Pakshik Mittak, a 2024 yatri, approached me with an exciting project. His family owned Postman Oil, a big edible oil brand that had been popular back in the 90s. They wanted to revive their digital presence, and I built both PostmanOil.in and PostmanOil.com for them.
Jeetu Parmar, my earlier client, referred me to another client from Mumbai. And the referrals kept coming.
By the time I counted, the returns from my Jagriti Yatra investment had multiplied tenfold. What started as a plan to find a few clients turned into a sustainable network of entrepreneurs who trusted my work and recommended me to others.
The Pune Meetup That Changed Everything
Jagriti Yatra doesn’t end when the train returns to the station. The community stays connected through regular meetups in different cities. The Pune meetup, where I connected with Disha and finalized more projects, also brought an unexpected opportunity.
During one of the sessions, the Chief Operating Officer of Jagriti Yatra mentioned that the organization needed a chatbot solution. My ears perked up. This was exactly the kind of work I had been doing for my clients. I approached them after the session and offered to build an MVP.
I went home, built the minimum viable product, and sent it to the team. They liked what they saw and invited me to Mumbai to discuss further.
From Freelancer to Team Member
The Mumbai meeting was supposed to be about the chatbot project. But as we talked, the conversation expanded. Jagriti Yatra wanted to outsource their product development work, and they saw me as someone who understood their needs and could deliver results.
I started working on projects remotely while occasionally visiting the Mumbai office. And during this time, I noticed something that would change my trajectory completely.
The organization, despite its incredible mission and reach, was struggling with technology. Written application reviews were being done manually. The video interview platform was outsourced and not integrated properly. Too many processes that could be automated or streamlined were consuming valuable time and resources.
I saw the loop holes clearly. Not as problems, but as opportunities.
I went to the leadership and made a proposal. Instead of outsourcing different pieces to different vendors, let me handle everything. Let me build systems that actually work together, that reduce manual effort, that scale properly.
They listened. And then they offered me a full-time position.
Why I Said Yes
Freelancing had given me freedom, but this opportunity offered something different. It offered the chance to build something substantial, to solve real problems for an organization whose mission I believed in, and to work with a team of people who were genuinely trying to make a difference.
The flexibility was there. The challenges were exciting. And the potential to create meaningful impact was enormous.
I said yes.
Lessons for Fellow Entrepreneurs
Looking back at this journey, a few things stand out clearly.
Be visible and vocal about what you do. I didn’t get my first client by sending cold emails. I got it because I was talking openly about my work, and someone who needed those skills happened to be listening.
Deliver quality work, always. Every project I completed on the yatra led to another project through referrals. Reputation compounds faster than you think, especially in tight-knit communities.
Stay connected with your network. The Pune meetup happened months after the yatra ended, but it led to opportunities that changed my career. Communities have long memories for people who show up consistently.
Look for problems, not just projects. My full-time role came from identifying inefficiencies that others had overlooked. When you see a problem clearly, and you can solve it, speak up.
Take the unconventional path seriously. A train journey sounds like a fun experience, not a career strategy. But sometimes the most unexpected environments create the most meaningful opportunities.
Final Thoughts
This is how I went from being a yatri to becoming the Tech Lead at Jagriti Yatra. From a participant on a train to a core team member building the technology that powers this incredible movement.
When I look back at this journey, it feels surreal. I boarded that train as a freelancer hoping to find a few clients. I stepped off with a portfolio full of projects. And months later, I found myself leading the tech transformation of an organization that impacts thousands of young entrepreneurs every year.
Today, I wake up genuinely excited about my work. I’m not just writing code or building websites. I’m solving real problems that have real impact. Every system I build, every process I automate, every solution I create helps Jagriti Yatra reach more young people and inspire more entrepreneurs across India.
There’s a different kind of satisfaction when your work matters. When you can see the direct impact of what you create. When you’re surrounded by people who believe in building India through enterprise. That’s what I have now, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Am I fully happy? Absolutely. Am I satisfied? More than I ever imagined. Do I love the challenges that come my way? Every single one of them.
Jagriti Yatra is marketed as an entrepreneurship program, and it delivers on that promise. But for me, it was more than that. It was a reminder that careers are not built through linear paths and formal interviews alone. They’re built through conversations, through showing up, through delivering value wherever you are.
If you’re considering applying for Jagriti Yatra, do it. If you’re a freelancer wondering where your next client will come from, put yourself in rooms where interesting people gather. If you see a problem that nobody else is solving, raise your hand.
You never know which conversation on a moving train might change everything.
From yatri to Tech Lead. From freelancer to core team. From searching for clients to building systems that serve thousands.
This is my Jagriti story. What will yours be?