From hardship to high-tech: the journey of a global company from Mohali

When Vikram R Singh speaks about success, he rarely begins with business. Instead, he goes back to a modest home in Mohali, where life changed abruptly when he was 12. His father’s death left his mother to raise three children while taking up a government job. The family’s circumstances changed overnight, but so did Singh’s understanding of responsibility.

“My mother never allowed our circumstances to become our identity,” he recalls. “She taught us that resilience isn’t something you talk about; it’s something you live.”

Those formative years quietly laid the foundation for the entrepreneur he would later become.

Learning by doing

Born in Amritsar and raised in Mohali, Singh completed his schooling in the city before taking a path very different from that of most young graduates. Financial constraints ruled out a conventional college education. Instead, he worked during the day while studying through correspondence, earning a bachelor’s degree from Panjab University, followed by postgraduate diplomas in computer applications and journalism.

His first lessons in technology came not from a classroom but from necessity. In the late 1990s, he exchanged design work for computer training because he could not afford the course fees.

“When you earn your education through your own labour, you value every lesson differently,” he says.

A setback that became an opportunity

Entrepreneurship was never part of a carefully crafted plan.

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A severe bout of spondylitis in 2004 made regular employment increasingly difficult. What initially appeared to be a career setback ultimately pushed him towards building something of his own.

He began with a small print media venture before recognising the potential of digital technology. In 2005, he registered his first business with limited resources and spent years operating on a shoestring budget. When Antier Solutions was incorporated in 2011, there was no venture capital backing the company—only determination and discipline.

For nearly 17 years, the company remained entirely bootstrapped.

“There were moments when every rupee mattered,” Singh says. “Those constraints forced us to think clearly before making every decision.”

Betting on blockchain

The defining moment came in 2017, when Antier made a strategic shift to enterprise blockchain, well before the technology entered mainstream business conversations.

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At a time when blockchain was largely associated with cryptocurrencies, Singh believed its real value lay in creating trusted digital systems.

“The future isn’t about speculation,” he says. “It’s about building systems where trust can be verified.”

Today, Antier works with governments, financial institutions, and enterprises across several countries, developing blockchain infrastructure, tokenisation, and digital trust solutions. From a small Mohali startup, it has grown into a global organisation employing more than 600 professionals across India and overseas.

Leading through trust

Despite the company’s international footprint, Singh remains closely connected to Mohali and believes the tricity region has matured into a vibrant startup ecosystem, supported by mentors, incubators, and entrepreneurial networks that were largely absent when he began.

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“When I started, entrepreneurship could feel lonely,” he says. “Today, young founders have access to guidance that many of us had to discover ourselves.”

His leadership philosophy is centred on trust. Rather than relying on hierarchy, he encourages employees to take ownership early in their careers. Many of Antier’s senior leaders, he points out, began in junior positions before progressing to lead teams and build products.

Building for the future

Singh’s ambitions extend beyond expanding the company. He envisions Antier becoming a publicly listed global technology company while applying blockchain to solve public challenges.

One issue that continues to concern him is the recurring leak of examination papers in India. He believes blockchain technology can help secure examination systems and restore public confidence in merit-based recruitment.

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For Singh, however, the true measure of success goes beyond revenue or valuation.

“The real achievement”, he says, “will be the day Antier becomes stronger without me in the room.”

Asmita Saini is an intern with The Indian Express, Chandigarh.