From Scratch to Real-World: How I Started Building Things That Matter

This talk is my personal journey of starting coding in seventh grade with Scratch and gradually building real-world projects that impacted my community. From building a catalogue website for my mother's tailoring business to creating the Voter Pride Badge Maker used by over two hundred people during the Tamil Nadu Elections 2026, I'll share how simple solutions can create real impact. I'll also talk about how artificial intelligence is changing modern development and why starting before you are perfect is the most important step any student can take.

• Simple solutions can create real impact when they solve real problems for real people at a meaningful place.

• Technology is most powerful when used meaningfully to help your community, not just for complexity.

• You don't need to be perfect to start building — just begin with what you know.

• The modern developer isn't someone who knows everything — it's someone who communicates effectively with artificial intelligence.

• Start first, learn along the way — problems and learning come together.