At eight years old, Abhi Thanendran wasn’t dreaming about building a startup. He was simply trying to start over.
Born into a Sri Lankan Tamil family, Abhi arrived in Canada as a refugee after his family fled the civil war. They settled in a low-income neighbourhood in Toronto, where his parents, both trained teachers, took whatever jobs they could find to support the family. Life wasn’t easy, but education became their greatest investment in the future.
That foundation changed everything.Abhi went on to study Mathematics at the University of Waterloo before beginning his career in actuarial science. Although the work sharpened his analytical thinking, it wasn’t where he saw his future. He moved into quantitative finance, working at hedge funds before taking a bold leap into the startup world by joining Revolut as one of its earliest employees and its first data scientist.
At Revolut, he met Neil Shah.
The two worked together as the fintech giant grew from a tiny startup into one of Europe’s biggest success stories. Along the way, they learned what it takes to build products that millions of people use. But they also noticed something missing.
Online shopping had become faster and more convenient, but it had lost the excitement and human connection that made shopping enjoyable. They believed technology could do more than process transactions. It could bring people together.
In 2021, they left their comfortable careers to build Tilt, a live commerce platform that allows people to sell products through live video. Their goal wasn’t simply to create another shopping app. They wanted to give ordinary people the opportunity to become entrepreneurs without needing celebrity status or millions of followers.
The journey, however, was far from smooth.
Like many startups, Tilt didn’t succeed on its first attempt. The founders initially built a live shopping experience for independent brands, convinced they had found a winning idea. The market thought otherwise. Sellers struggled with the product, adoption was slow, and the excitement they expected never came.
Rather than defending their assumptions, Abhi and his team paid close attention to what users were telling them. Every complaint became valuable feedback. Every setback became an opportunity to improve. They refined the product, shifted their focus towards live auctions and resale fashion, and the results changed everything. What once looked like a failing idea became the foundation of one of Europe’s fastest-growing live commerce platforms.
That willingness to improve became part of Tilt’s culture. As artificial intelligence began transforming online commerce, the company introduced an AI-powered tool called Snap to help sellers create listings more efficiently. The first versions failed to impress users, with many sellers finding the experience frustrating. Instead of abandoning the product, the team continued refining it until it became one of the platform’s most widely adopted features. For Abhi, failure was never a signal to quit. It was a signal to keep improving.
His approach to competition is equally refreshing. While many startups spend their time worrying about giants like TikTok and other established platforms, Abhi believes founders should spend far more time understanding their customers. In his view, companies become industry leaders not by obsessing over competitors, but by consistently solving meaningful problems for the people they serve.
That philosophy is reflected in how Tilt operates. Rather than creating a marketplace where only a handful of influencers dominate attention, the platform is designed to help everyday sellers succeed. Abhi believes entrepreneurship shouldn’t be reserved for those who already have fame or influence. With the right tools and opportunities, ordinary people can build thriving businesses and loyal communities of customers.
Today, Tilt has grown into one of Europe’s fastest-growing live commerce platforms, operating across several countries and raising more than $50 million in funding. More importantly, it has helped create sellers who have built thriving businesses from scratch. According to Abhi, none of the platform’s first 13 million-dollar sellers were influencers. They were ordinary people who were willing to learn, work hard and show up consistently.
Abhi’s story reminds us that where you begin does not determine where you finish. A refugee child searching for a fresh start would one day build a company that is helping thousands of ordinary people create opportunities for themselves.
Reflecting on entrepreneurship, Abhi once said, “The absolute most important thing is to never give up.” He believes many businesses fail not because the idea lacks potential, but because founders lose conviction before finding the solution. As he explains, “Every single problem has a solution, and your job as a founder is to find what that solution is.”
Sometimes the greatest advantage isn’t having the perfect start. It’s having the resilience to keep moving forward when life gives you every reason to stop.
A Few Other Lessons Worth Taking Away
- Your circumstances may shape your story, but they do not have to define your future.
- Great founders don’t assume they have all the answers. They listen, learn and adapt.
- A successful career is valuable, but sometimes growth requires leaving comfort behind.
- Don’t become obsessed with competitors. Become obsessed with solving your customers’ problems.
- Not every first idea will succeed. Be willing to pivot when the evidence points in a better direction.
- Failure is feedback. Use it to build something better.
- Build opportunities for ordinary people, not just those who already have an advantage.
- Success belongs to those who keep learning, adapting and showing up consistently.
Above all, never give up. Persistence often separates businesses that fail from those that eventually succeed.
The Brief Network: Inspiring Stories and Empowering Lessons.
