Who is Dinesh DM?

Two years ago, I became more active on LinkedIn.

Tech. FinOps. Cloud. IT Strategy.

No pitches. No selling. Just thoughts and observations into the things I love.

A few good connections asked me: "Dinesh, what do you actually do?"

Fair question.

Now that I’m nearing 40, I think it's the right moment to look back and tell my story - how I got here and where I’m headed.

Not a polished bio, but the raw, unfiltered path that led me here.

(Personal life? That’s staying out of this.)

Just how I got obsessed with tech and where that obsession took me.

So, let’s rewind.

The kid who asked too many questions

I was born into an upper-middle-class family in Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

My dad has a passion towards gadgets and automobiles. That meant our house was always filled with tech that was ahead of its time.

Our first color TV? 1990.
Our first car? 1989.
My dad’s first scooter? 1984.

Every time something new arrived, I’ll ask:

“What’s inside this?”
"How does this work?"

It drove my parents crazy.

But my mom’s younger sister unknowingly fueled my curiosity even further.

She was one of the first employees at Technopark Trivandrum, India’s first and largest IT park.

Every time I visited her home during school holidays, I’d see stacks of books - COBOL, FORTRAN, BASIC programming.

I didn’t understand a word. But I read them all.

Something about “computing” caught my curiosity.

The first taste of computing

Back then, schools didn’t have computer labs. IT wasn’t even a subject.

But in 2003, my elder cousin got the first desktop computer in our family.

That was it. I became a regular at their house. Not for the food. Not for the company.

Just to stare at that magic machine.

And I still remember the ultra-slow dial-up internet. The waiting. The sound. The patience required just to load a single webpage.

It made me want a computer even more.

I started pushing my father. Hard.

In 2004, when I was in 12th grade, I finally got my own desktop computer.

The most premium feature? An optical mouse.

No roller balls. No dust getting stuck. Just smooth, futuristic movement.

That machine became my home lab.

I took it apart. Reassembled it. Installed and reinstalled OS after OS. Dual booted. Experimented. Broke things. Fixed them.

My real tech education had begun.

Engineering (sort of) & the birth of a business

Like any tech-obsessed kid, I wanted to do Computer Science Engineering.

Family thought otherwise.

I was pushed into Electronics and Communication Engineering. (Still a mystery why.)

I went along with it, but my heart was still with computers.

By 2008, in my third year, I had found a way to mix both.

I started assembling and selling PCs for my friends and their families.

Branded PCs were insanely expensive back then. I offered custom-built, affordable alternatives.

It worked. I made good money.

But while my PC business was booming, my engineering grades weren’t.

I graduated with 28 backlogs in a course that had only 56 subjects.

(Yeah, do the math.)

But I had a plan.

Secretly skipping engineering to study what I loved

I never told my parents about the backlogs.

Instead, I convinced them I needed “higher skills” to land a great job.

So, I enrolled in a one-year course at a computer training center in Trivandrum.

Done CCNA, MCSE and RHCE courses

And I became MCP-certified.

While studying, I finally told my parents about my backlogs. 

But I also promised them I’d clear them soon.

By then, I had already built a side business installing, repairing, and assembling computers.

People paid me ₹350 ($5) just to install Windows. And back then, that was good money.

From freelancer to “advisor”

By the time I finished my course, my reputation had grown.

I wasn’t just installing software anymore - I was serving businesses and high-end clients.

Networking setups. Premium PC configurations. Hardware consulting.

Computers were still a luxury that time, and my clientele included elite professionals and business owners.

I had no corporate job. No degree yet.

Just my skills, my contacts, my trusty bike, and a Nokia 1100.

And I was busier than today’s “LinkedIn outreach” experts.

Meanwhile, another realization hit me.

I felt a strong urge to write. I wanted to share my knowledge, document what I was learning.

So, in 2010, I launched my first blog - The Network Wizard - on Google Blogger.

I wrote a few posts, but due to my tight schedule (and the fact that mobile internet was still slow 2G), I abandoned it.

But the page is still live to this day.

The Samsung service center phase & finishing my degree

In 2011, I took a short detour.

I worked at a Samsung Service Center as a Service Manager - on daily wages.

At the same time, I finally cleared all my engineering backlogs.

By then, my freelancing had made me an “advisor” for many clients. 

I wasn’t just fixing computers anymore.

People trusted me with buying decisions, networking solutions, and system configurations.

I was happy. My parents weren’t.

They still wanted me in a stable job.

That’s when RGCB Trivandrum happened.

The RGCB years: Learning beyond my role

In 2014, my father (without informing me) applied for a position at RGCB (Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology), Trivandrum - for me

To my surprise, I got in.

I joined as a Trainee Instrumentation Engineer in April 2014.

At RGCB, I managed IT, lab instrumentation, electrical systems, and AV setups.

I fell in love with the place.

I worked overtime without pay because I genuinely enjoyed learning new things and collaborating with different departments - stores, admin, purchase, finance and more.

In 2016, I was promoted to Senior Project Assistant.

Now, I was handling high-impact technical projects.

Servers, networking, EPABX systems, biotech research equipment - I managed it all.

But in October 2021, after seven years, I left RGCB.

Not because I wanted to. But because of personal reasons that needed my full attention.

The Volter Ronis story

By mid-2022, my personal matters settled.

I had two choices:

• Go back to RGCB (they were open to it)

• Start something new

I went with the second option.

I founded Volter Ronis in December 2022, - a tech consulting and project management firm.

Since Singapore is a strategic tech hub, I registered my company there while managing it remotely from India.

In 2023, while thinking about creating a website for Volter Ronis, I had a limited budget.

So, instead of outsourcing, I decided to build it myself.

I started experimenting with Wix, then Webflow.

And I discovered another passion - web design, branding, and copywriting.

I took courses from Wix and Webflow, learned copywriting from John Carlton’s website, and became a huge fan of his writing style.

In 2023, an old friend brought me in to manage an infra modernization project.

By the end of Year 1, Volter Ronis had made $25,000 in net profit.

But something felt off.

What’s next? The search for fulfillment

And here’s something people often ask me - "Dinesh, why were you learning so much instead of focusing just on project management techniques?"

Because that’s who I am.

If I’m managing something, I want to understand it inside out. Only then can I execute it properly.

I believe the best way to make a project successful is to know the work - not just delegate it.

Over the last year, I earned 50+ certifications.

I’ve learned about AI, cloud, FinOps, TBM, cost optimization, and project management.

And in February 2025, I launched Coffee and Ctrl - my new blog, where I write my unfiltered thoughts whenever I’m free.

But I miss something. The real-world execution. The big teams. The structured chaos.

Solo entrepreneurship is great. But for me, money without mental fulfillment isn’t success.

Looking back, I had unintentionally become a jack of many trades. But I believe this ability - to learn deeply and apply knowledge - is what makes me a strong project manager today.

So, I’m figuring out my next step - the best place where I can prove my skills, enjoy my work, and keep learning.

Until then, I’ll keep doing what I love - reading, learning, and writing.

This story isn’t over. More updates will come.

Now, you know me better. 😊

With ❤️, Dinesh