From Code to Computers: How I Built SPURGE RENTALS from a Side Hustle

The Unexpected Journey of a Software Engineer Who Found Success in Laptop Rentals

Sometimes the best businesses aren't the ones you plan — they're the ones that find you when you're not even looking.

The Beginning: A Window of Opportunity

Picture this: a software engineer sitting by his apartment window in Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru, watching the evening rush of IT professionals returning home with their laptop backpacks. That was me in 2018, fresh out of a family conflict that led me to leave Ahmedabad with nothing but a bag of clothes and a determination to carve my own path.

Looking out the apartment window at Bengaluru's IT crowd

I'd always been the kid obsessed with computers. While others collected stamps or played cricket, I was learning about disk partitions, removing bad sectors with chkdsk, and spending every rupee I had on CPUs and monitors. This passion led me to software engineering, where I spent my days and nights building products and writing code.

But that evening by the window changed everything.

Before SPURGE: The Accidental Discovery

The First Trade

I had an old laptop to sell. Posted it on OLX (remember when that was the go-to platform?), and it sold to someone from another state. That simple transaction sparked an idea — if there's demand elsewhere, why not here in Bengaluru, the IT capital of India?

Through a friend's connection at a computer trading shop, I started receiving laptop deals on WhatsApp. I decided to test the waters with just 5 units — old Dell i5 2nd generation laptops, thick as bricks but reliable workhorses. I bought them for ₹9-10K each.

The 90-10 Split

Here's where my story gets interesting. While I was building this laptop trading side hustle, 90% of my time and energy was devoted to Tully, a software product I was architecting from scratch. I was the CTO, building everything — frontend, backend, Android app, and with help, the iOS app. We secured $6 million in funding. It was my baby.

The laptop business? That was my 10% — a hobby that somehow kept pulling me back.

I'd tell myself after each batch: "This is the last one. No more laptops." But then I'd find better suppliers, better deals, better quality. From 5 units to 10, then 50, then 100, 200, even 500 units at a time. My Koramangala office became a mini-warehouse where dealer groups would visit, check stock, and buy in bulk.

Stacks of laptops ready for trade inside a Koramangala office

The Pivot: COVID and the Birth of SPURGE RENTALS

The First Rental Order

Just before COVID hit, everything changed. I received an inquiry from SLK Technologies (now Coforge) for 100-1000 laptops on rent for 3 months. By then, I'd already sold most of my stock to regular vendors. But with borders closing and work-from-home becoming mandatory, laptop demand skyrocketed.

I took the leap: 100 units at ₹2,400 per month with a 3-month lock-in. Those Lenovo ThinkPads I'd bought for ₹15,000 each were supposed to be a 3-month rental, after which I'd sell them.

But month 3 became month 4, then 5, then 6...

That's when the calculator came out. Walking around my bedroom, crunching numbers, imagining 1,000 laptops on rent for 1-2 years. The math was beautiful. The returns were incredible.

SPURGE RENTALS was born.

During SPURGE: The Rollercoaster

Scaling Up

Within a year, I hit my first 1,000 rental laptops. The monthly rental income exceeded what my US client was paying me for Tully. It was decision time. I chose SPURGE, exited Tully gracefully, and went all-in on rentals.

The Disaster

One month after leaving Tully, catastrophe struck:

  • 274 laptops lost to a fraudulent client in Hyderabad
  • 700 laptops seized by CID in a Chinese loan app investigation
  • Nearly 1,000 laptops gone in days

Everything I'd built, worked for day and night — vanished in the blink of an eye.

The Comeback

But here's what separates entrepreneurs from everyone else — we get back up. I fought legal battles, dealt with police corruption, learned hard lessons about trust and verification. I recovered 624 laptops from the CID after winning my case.

More importantly, I learned my biggest mistake: running a one-man show. No proper due diligence, no systems, just trust and handshakes.

Current: Building a Machine That Runs Without Me

The Transformation

Post-disaster, I rebuilt SPURGE differently:

  • Hired an accounts manager
  • Built a team: CRM, collections, logistics, operations
  • Created SOPs for every process
  • Implemented proper client verification
  • Established payment monitoring systems
  • Added compliance and legal frameworks

Today's SPURGE

As of 2025, SPURGE RENTALS:

  • Manages 2,000+ laptops on active rental across India
  • Offers everything from high-end MacBooks to gaming laptops
  • Operates independently without my daily involvement
  • Has grown from a side hustle to a self-sustaining business

The Lessons

1. Your side project might be your main calling. I was a software engineer who stumbled into hardware rentals. Sometimes passion finds you in unexpected places.

2. Disaster is a teacher in disguise. Losing 1,000 laptops taught me more about business than any MBA could. It forced me to build systems, not just rely on myself.

3. The 90-10 rule works both ways. What starts as your 10% can become your 100%. Pay attention to what keeps pulling you back.

4. Scale requires systems. A one-man show can only go so far. Real growth happens when you build processes that work without you.

5. Timing matters. COVID created unprecedented demand for laptop rentals. Being positioned to capitalize on that moment made all the difference.

Looking Forward

SPURGE RENTALS isn't just a business anymore — it's proof that sometimes the best path isn't the one you planned. It's the one you discover while looking out your window, wondering what all those laptop backpacks mean.

From writing code to renting computers, from a side hustle to a scaling business, from disaster to comeback — this journey taught me that entrepreneurship isn't about avoiding failures. It's about learning faster than you fail.

Today, when young entrepreneurs ask me for advice, I tell them: "Keep your eyes open. Your billion-dollar idea might be hiding in your 10% time."

Modern SPURGE RENTALS operations with teams and laptops

SPURGE RENTALS continues to grow, serving businesses across India with reliable laptop rental solutions. What started as a curious observation from a Bengaluru apartment window has become a testament to the power of persistence, adaptation, and the courage to rebuild after failure.

Started with 5 laptops. Survived losing 1,000. Now managing 2,000+.

That's the SPURGE story.