The best time to take risk is at early stage of your career. One will be having very less commitments. For example if an engineering grad has good final year project he can convert into an startup with his friends. These days many of the college has incubation centers. By starting your comapny in the college will provide you help from the college/faculties etc. You wont feel alone in the battle of success. You will always be in touch with all knowldege base your college. Once your company is stabilized then take it to next level.
I have studied birth of US silicon valley in detail. Majority of the starups in the silicon valley are from fresh college grads from stanford university. What this tells is experience is a relative term. If you have a great idea, a mastermind team, and some VC or angel investors then no one can stop you from starting your company.
In India, mentally of people is get experience and then start your company. I dont say it is wrong but even fresh college grads can venture into starups. Even if they fail it will be a great learning experience which is more valuable then working for years in a established company. There are about ~27000 hitech companies in the silicon valley. It means every day one or the other company takes birth in silicon valley! In India people beg the MNC's to start a shop in thier city, rather then provididng full support for the home grown entrepreneur. Remember India can generate huge employments after 5 to 10 years only when the support and scope for home grown startup is more.
I am Mechanical engineer(2005), in another 2 months I will be starting my own company back in my college. My college is supporting me in this.
Just an adivce for freah passed out grads, if you want to be an entrepreneur then better look back to your college for incubation support. Catch hold of some final year students to develop your product, they will work as their final year project and later commercialize your product. This type of startup model will prove to be a easy approach for software/small hardware startup.
What I belive is a great college, a brilliant idea, an hardworking team, access to VC/angels and some good restaurants nearby is an ideal receipe for starups[:-)]
My best wishes to all the young entrepreneur. Belive in yourself, read success stories of silion valley startups. And plan well before your venture into startups.
RE:Fresh College grads should venture into startups
by sandeep chakravarthy on Feb 01, 2007 10:34 PM Permalink
Best of Luck..for your venture..
India is tipped to beat Japan in Quality and US in Service n Support...u think Final years students will have enough exposure n mental growth to achieve this level of committment. For small Enterprises starting with late growth visions ... u can use college incubation centres....
But I would support Amar Deep ... because exposure to handling small small things, and different pressures and processes are very crucial for a Healthy n growing company.
Experience in people management is very crucial n exposure to Industry processes n procedures are very necessary....
But if you r into creative n innovative Product development or Service Delivery...then u can leverage on experience factor...
Anyways,
All the Best for your venture...
Even I am a Mechanical Engineer (2004) strating my comapny by March.
RE:Fresh College grads should venture into startups
by Sanjay Bhakat on Feb 01, 2007 11:44 AM Permalink
Dear DJ, I have read your write-up and is really impressed. I am an NRI based in UAE and I am interested in looking into your project, probably if you are interested. Should you find you would like to give a thought, lets communicate in my email id sanjay.businessindia@gmail.com with the caption "DJ from Hubli". Regards and God Bless. Sanjay Bhakat
RE:Fresh College grads should venture into startups
by Amar Deep on Feb 01, 2007 02:47 PM Permalink
Dear DJ
Not to discourage you, I have done this in 1996 and didn t work, the market was not big those days too and i lacked experience in market. I was a new tech grad from College then, after 4 years of work in Desi and so called MNCs. I got to reventure out again with my saved income as capital. It is 2 years now and im doing good. Now what i advice you is that you still need to know the market and its dynamics which typical Indian grad Lacks because he would not have delivered couriers/ news papers/ worked in Mac s and in dormitories like an average american Kid, THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE HE ALREADY KNOWS THE WORLD AND ITS DYNAMICS. you need to think of this before your next STEP. A Marwari boy is a trained in his fathers / Uncle s shop from his childhood days so they turn out to be better entreprenuers in Tech/ engg/ consulting field the only addition is their Education unlike his parents lack that. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS IF YOU ARE A FIRST GENERATION ENTREPRENUER. - AMANDEEP
