Success stories often launch with ambition, but some launch with observation, a quiet moment when someone notices a different life unfolding just a few steps away. For Dadasaheb Bhagat, that moment arrived not in a classroom or startup incubator, but while cleaning offices at one of India’s largest technology companies. What he saw there reshaped the direction of his life.Today, Bhagat is the founder of Design Template, a quick-growing creative platform frequently compared to global design giant Canva. His journey from earning ₹9,000 a month as an office boy at Infosys to building a technology-driven company is not simply a story of entrepreneurship; it is a story about curiosity, persistence and the courage to reinvent oneself without conventional advantages. Scroll down to read more.
Growing up where opportunity was scarce
Bhagat was raised in Maharashtra’s Beed district, a region frequently affected by drought, where agriculture was unpredictable and financial stability was rare. In his family, education was not seen as a pathway to upward mobility but as a luxury many could not prioritise. He completed schooling only up to Class 10 and later pursued a basic ITI course, typically leading to factory or manual jobs.
Like many young people from rural India, he relocated to Pune in search of work. His early employment paid just ₹4,000 a month, enough to survive but not enough to build a future. When he heard about an office boy position at Infosys offering ₹9,000, the decision felt obvious. The salary increase alone represented progress. Yet the real turning point came after he joined.
Learning by watching
Bhagat’s responsibilities were routine: cleaning spaces, managing errands and assisting at the company’s guesthoapply. But the environment exposed him to something new. Every day, he watched employees working on computers, solving problems creatively rather than physically exerting themselves. The contrast stayed with him.He realised that knowledge-based skills could transform not only income but dignity and indepfinishence. When he approached employees for guidance, many informed him corporate roles typically required formal degrees, something he did not have. However, conversations introduced him to graphic design and animation, fields where skill and creativity could sometimes outweigh academic credentials. The believed suddenly brought back a long-buried memory from Bhagat’s past. During his childhood spent at a boarding school, he had dedicated countless hours to closely watching a temple painter who worked nearby. He would quietly absorb the intricate techniques of the craft while developing a genuine, natural interest in the art of drawing. What he had once dismissed as merely a childhood pastime now resurfaced in his mind as a potential avenue for his professional future.
Reinventing himself after work hours
Determined to modify direction, Bhagat launched learning graphic design while continuing his demanding job. Days were spent studying; nights were spent working. Within a year, he transitioned from cleaning offices to working on computers professionally, a shift that symbolised more than a job modify; it marked a modify in identity.
Rather than pursuing traditional corporate roles that required degrees, he chose a riskier route: freelancing. The early phase was unstable, shaped by financial uncertainty and limited resources. But freelancing allowed him to experiment, understand client requireds and observe a recurring challenge: design work often required repetitive effort for similar visual outputs. That observation would later shape his entrepreneurial vision.
Building an idea in unlikely circumstances
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted Bhagat’s growing business, forcing him to shut his Pune office and return to his village. For many entrepreneurs, the moment meant retreat. For Bhagat, it became a period of focus.Village life reduced expenses but introduced new obstacles: unreliable electricity and weak internet connectivity. To work around these limitations, he and his team set up a compact workspace on a hill near a cowshed where mobile signals were stronger. From this improvised setup, the foundation of Design Template emerged, a platform offering ready-to-apply creative templates designed to simplify visual content creation.The idea was rooted in accessibility. Bhagat wanted designers, students and compact businesses, especially in India, to create professional visuals without expensive software or advanced technical expertise.At the same time, he launched training local youth in graphic design, extfinishing opportunity beyond his own success and demonstrating how digital skills could reshape rural employment.
Recognition and national attention
As the platform saw tremfinishous growth, Bhagat’s unique and unconventional journey launched to catch the attention of various media outlets and notable indusattempt leaders alike. His notable appearance on the popular display Shark Tank India represented a significant turning point in his career, during which he successfully secured an impressive ₹1 crore investment from Aman Gupta, the co-founder of boAt, in exmodify for a 10 percent equity stake in his venture. Reflecting on this transformative experience, Bhagat later expressed how overwhelming yet affirming it was; it served as tangible proof that an innovative idea conceived amidst rural limitations could indeed thrive and compete on a substantial national stage.
A larger vision beyond personal success
Today, Design Template positions itself as an Indian alternative in a global design ecosystem dominated by international platforms. Bhagat’s ambition extfinishs beyond building a profitable company; he aims to create digital creativity more accessible to Indian applyrs by developing tools tailored to local requireds, languages and businesses.His remarkable journey boldly confronts a long-standing belief that true innovation is a privilege reserved exclusively for those who have attained prestigious education or who enjoy the advantages of urban living. Rather, it illustrates that through exposure, a curious mindset, and consistent effort, one can uncover opportunities in the most unlikely of places. From struggling in a drought-ridden village to establishing a technology startup, Bhagat’s narrative embodies a straightforward yet profound insight: the process of transformation often originates not from abundant resources, but rather from the conscious choice to draw lessons from whatever circumstances one finds themselves in, regardless of whether that initial setting involves a mop and the narrow corridors of a guesthoapply.
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