BANGALORE: With Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg to look up to as role models, many students on Indian campuses are now more inclined to startups than complete their college graduation.
Take the case of 20-year old Pulkit Jaiswal, for instance. His passion for robotics led him to quit his course at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and move to the Silicon Valley.
Currently the founder and CEO of Singapore-based drone software services provider Garuda Robotics, he set shop last September and has raised a sizable amount from venture capitalists and angels from the Valley.
"I think I got really lucky. Education is a perpetual thing, and I get educated every day," said Jaiswal, whose startup is his second attempt at entrepreneurship.
The Thiel Fellowship of Paypal founder Peter Thiel provides 20 students under age 20 an attractive no strings-attached offer of $100,000 to discontinue their studies and focus on building their venture for two years. Jaiswal was among the 20.
But investors seem to be supportive of such decisions. "Ultimately, what makes a difference is passion over education. If there is both, then that's great, but academics is a minor factor," said Padmaja Ruparel, president of Indian Angel Networks.
"The Thiel Fellowship was leverage for me," said Ritesh Agarwal, founder of Delhi-based online accommodation portal Oravel, which roped in a string of investments.
Term sheets from two-three investors pushed the 19-year-old to drop out of college, migrate from Bhubaneswar to Delhi, and stay at new B&Bs across the country for three months scouring over 110 properties and ultimately launch his venture in May 2012. The larger hurdle many Indian dropouts face is family support. Venture Nursery scheduled an interaction with Agarwal's father seeking a confirmation that there will be no family pressure to rejoin college before taking the startup under its wing.
"Formal education sometimes holds you back from taking risks. That doesn't mean we encourage discontinuation. We just invested in a company by a boy who has completed his MTech in IIT Bombay," said Ravi Kiran, cofounder of the angel-backed accelerator.
IIT Kharagpur, however, saw Harshit Shrivastav of Bangalore's Intugine Technologies, which makes a wearable device, take a year off from his course in January.
The institute provides potential entrepreneurs a year and financial assistance to set shop, along with a choice: If successful, they are free to drop out. If not, they can join back. "It doesn't look like I'll be going back. We seem to be doing quite alright," said Shrivastav, 23, who plans to launch his new product by the end of the year and aims to raise about $100,000 (about Rs 60 lakh) from crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.
Similarly Bihar's 19-year old Siddhant Vats quit high school it was to beat Apple, Google and Sony at building the world's first smart watch company, along with Androidly Systems was launched in July 2013. The $229 (around Rs 14,000) device comes with a builtin camera, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and can be used to make calls and texts using a phone SIM card.
Not only is he in the process of launching Androidly's second product, and starting two other ventures, he has also been invited by US President Barack Obama to the White House this New Years. "A degree is a hygiene factor," said Yogendra Vasupal, college dropout-turned-CEO of Stayzilla. "You need to have the drive and commitment to be able to make that decision and stick to it."
Students on Indian campuses more inclined to drop out from college to start ventures - The Economic Times
Take the case of 20-year old Pulkit Jaiswal, for instance. His passion for robotics led him to quit his course at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and move to the Silicon Valley.
Currently the founder and CEO of Singapore-based drone software services provider Garuda Robotics, he set shop last September and has raised a sizable amount from venture capitalists and angels from the Valley.
"I think I got really lucky. Education is a perpetual thing, and I get educated every day," said Jaiswal, whose startup is his second attempt at entrepreneurship.
The Thiel Fellowship of Paypal founder Peter Thiel provides 20 students under age 20 an attractive no strings-attached offer of $100,000 to discontinue their studies and focus on building their venture for two years. Jaiswal was among the 20.
But investors seem to be supportive of such decisions. "Ultimately, what makes a difference is passion over education. If there is both, then that's great, but academics is a minor factor," said Padmaja Ruparel, president of Indian Angel Networks.
"The Thiel Fellowship was leverage for me," said Ritesh Agarwal, founder of Delhi-based online accommodation portal Oravel, which roped in a string of investments.
Term sheets from two-three investors pushed the 19-year-old to drop out of college, migrate from Bhubaneswar to Delhi, and stay at new B&Bs across the country for three months scouring over 110 properties and ultimately launch his venture in May 2012. The larger hurdle many Indian dropouts face is family support. Venture Nursery scheduled an interaction with Agarwal's father seeking a confirmation that there will be no family pressure to rejoin college before taking the startup under its wing.
"Formal education sometimes holds you back from taking risks. That doesn't mean we encourage discontinuation. We just invested in a company by a boy who has completed his MTech in IIT Bombay," said Ravi Kiran, cofounder of the angel-backed accelerator.
IIT Kharagpur, however, saw Harshit Shrivastav of Bangalore's Intugine Technologies, which makes a wearable device, take a year off from his course in January.
The institute provides potential entrepreneurs a year and financial assistance to set shop, along with a choice: If successful, they are free to drop out. If not, they can join back. "It doesn't look like I'll be going back. We seem to be doing quite alright," said Shrivastav, 23, who plans to launch his new product by the end of the year and aims to raise about $100,000 (about Rs 60 lakh) from crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.
Similarly Bihar's 19-year old Siddhant Vats quit high school it was to beat Apple, Google and Sony at building the world's first smart watch company, along with Androidly Systems was launched in July 2013. The $229 (around Rs 14,000) device comes with a builtin camera, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and can be used to make calls and texts using a phone SIM card.
Not only is he in the process of launching Androidly's second product, and starting two other ventures, he has also been invited by US President Barack Obama to the White House this New Years. "A degree is a hygiene factor," said Yogendra Vasupal, college dropout-turned-CEO of Stayzilla. "You need to have the drive and commitment to be able to make that decision and stick to it."
Students on Indian campuses more inclined to drop out from college to start ventures - The Economic Times
