Karimnagar Teen Overcomes Brain Tumour, Learns Coding to Build Startup Platform

A 16-year-old student from Shankarapatnam in Karimnagar district has turned a prolonged medical recovery period into an opportunity to learn coding, artificial intelligence, and software development, using his time away from school to create a digital platform for jobs and startups.

M Manohar, currently a first-year Intermediate student at the Telangana Model School and Junior College in Shankarapatnam, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2021 while studying in Class 7. The illness forced him out of the classroom for nearly two years as he underwent three major surgeries at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, followed by four cycles of chemotherapy and 17 days of radiation therapy.

Faced with a long recovery period confined largely to his home, Manohar began using a laptop provided by his family to explore technology. Through online tutorials, he taught himself website development, chatbot engineering, and artificial intelligence. Coding served as a constructive outlet during his medical treatment, helping him cope with emotional challenges while building technical skills.

As his skills grew, Manohar moved from watching tutorials to building websites and chatbot agents, after which he attempted to find clients for his services. During this phase, he encountered significant challenges in connecting with customers, investors, and suitable employees, an experience that highlighted the widespread difficulties faced by emerging entrepreneurs.

To address these hurdles, Manohar began developing a unified digital platform called M-GLAD in 2025. The planned platform aims to bring together job seekers, startups, and established enterprises in a single digital space for employment, tenders, contracts, and commercial opportunities.

Under the proposed model, job seekers can create profiles showcasing practical skills, resumes, and project portfolios, allowing prospective employers to assess abilities directly rather than relying solely on traditional CVs. The platform is also intended to deliver updates on business tenders and contracts so enterprises do not miss commercial opportunities.

Manohar is currently building M-GLAD independently with financial and personal backing from his family, while exploring potential collaborations with government bodies, private institutions, and enterprises.