A Chandigarh University alumnus is building a multi-business technology venture aimed at helping small and growing companies navigate increasingly digital customer journeys, combining software development, digital marketing and networking services under one broader startup portfolio.

Sabhay Khera, a 2025 Computer Science Engineering graduate of Chandigarh University, founded Habonix Media Pvt Ltd to provide IT and digital services to businesses, including web and mobile application development, UI/UX design, performance marketing and technology consulting.

The venture has since expanded into two specialised businesses: No Cap Creative, a digital marketing and content company co-founded with Avleen Kaur in January 2026, and CollabRats, a mobile networking and opportunity-discovery platform co-founded with Ramandeep Singh in May 2025.

The development comes as India's large MSME base increasingly becomes a target market for digital transformation providers. The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises says approximately 67.4 million MSMEs were registered through Udyam and Udyam Assist Platform as of August 2025, contributing about 30.1% of India's GDP and accounting for roughly 290 million jobs.

From IT Services to a Broader Digital Business Portfolio

Habonix Media is positioned around a familiar challenge for smaller companies: accessing multiple digital capabilities without having to manage separate technology, design and marketing suppliers.

Its services cover application and website development, UI/UX design and performance marketing. The company's approach also reflects a broader shift in the SMB technology market, where agencies and IT service providers increasingly combine development, customer acquisition and digital strategy rather than operating as narrowly defined vendors.

The company says it received a ₹3 lakh startup seed grant from the Punjab government. However, its early traction has primarily come through its operating businesses rather than a product-led software model.

No Cap Creative, for example, has grown from three clients at launch in January 2026 to more than 20 clients, according to Khera. Its customer base spans restaurants and hospitality, real estate, healthcare, sports and fitness, fashion and lifestyle, retail and e-commerce, and professional services.

The company says it now generates more than ₹3 lakh in monthly revenue, employs more than 12 people and has generated more than 10 million cumulative views for clients.

Those figures are company-reported and have not been independently audited. They nevertheless illustrate the relatively low-capital route available to young technology entrepreneurs through specialised digital services before moving into scalable software products.

CollabRats Takes a Different Route

CollabRats represents the more product-oriented side of Khera's portfolio.

The mobile platform is designed around hyperlocal networking and opportunity discovery, allowing users to find people, jobs, gigs, events, communities and services nearby. The founders say the idea emerged from difficulties discovering relevant contacts and opportunities in unfamiliar environments.

The company remains pre-revenue and is focused on product validation and achieving product-market fit. According to Khera, its beta has attracted more than 250 users, while the team has conducted more than 200 user surveys. Its community initiative, CollabNation, has more than 300 members, while the company reports more than 1 million social-media views.

The strategy of building city-level communities before expanding geographically is significant. Hyperlocal networking platforms face a two-sided marketplace challenge: users need enough relevant opportunities to return, while businesses and organisations need enough users to make participation worthwhile.

CollabRats therefore enters a competitive environment that includes professional networking, job discovery, community platforms and local-services marketplaces. Its differentiation will depend less on the existence of networking features and more on whether its matching and local discovery mechanisms generate repeat engagement.

Market Landscape: India’s Startup and MSME Opportunity

India's startup market provides a substantial backdrop for ventures such as Habonix Media and CollabRats. According to Startup India, 2,07,137 startups had received DPIIT recognition by December 31, 2025, collectively reporting more than 2.19 million jobs.

At the same time, India's MSME sector creates a large potential customer base for digital agencies, SaaS providers, IT consultants and technology platforms. Government data places the sector's GDP contribution at around 30.1%, highlighting why digital infrastructure and customer acquisition services remain commercially relevant.

The opportunity is not without constraints. Smaller businesses typically balance technology investments against limited budgets, making measurable business outcomes increasingly important. Providers competing in this segment must demonstrate improvements in customer acquisition, conversion, operational efficiency or retention rather than simply delivering websites or social-media campaigns.

For service companies such as No Cap Creative, this creates an incentive to move toward performance-led marketing, analytics and technology-enabled delivery. For CollabRats, the challenge is different: building sufficient density and retention within each market before attempting geographic scale.

Strategic Outlook

Khera says No Cap Creative plans to expand across North India while strengthening content production, performance marketing, branding and digital strategy. The business also intends to explore technology products and platforms, potentially moving beyond conventional agency services.

That transition could become strategically important. Digital agencies can generate comparatively immediate service revenue, but technology products generally offer greater potential for repeatable distribution and scalability. The trade-off is that software products require sustained investment in product development, user acquisition and retention before meaningful revenue emerges.

CollabRats is already taking that product-first path. Its next phase will depend on improving matchmaking, user experience and retention while building communities through campuses, referrals, partnerships and content.

Chandigarh University is also positioning entrepreneurship as part of its institutional ecosystem. University representatives say CU students have created more than 250 startups and that its Technology Business Incubator is mobilising ₹5 crore to support startup development.

Top Insights

• Habonix Media combines IT services, digital marketing and startup-building under one operating portfolio.
• No Cap Creative has moved from three reported clients to more than 20 within its first year.
• CollabRats is pursuing a product-led model but remains pre-revenue and focused on validation.
• India's 67.4 million registered MSMEs represent a significant potential market for digital transformation providers.
• Product-market fit and retention will be critical challenges for CollabRats as it expands beyond its initial communities.
• The longer-term strategic question is whether Habonix can convert service-led growth into scalable technology products.

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