Why I didn't sit for my IIT Bombay CSE Placements

I get this question a lot. “ You are from IITB CSE. You are AIR 1, why didn’t you go for that swanky 1. Cr package dude? What a waste!”

There were quite a few reasons for it:

1. I always wanted to do something on my own instead of working for someone. This is not out of some compulsive need to “do something big”, but because I find it hard to follow orders instead of doing my own bidding.
2. All the people who you see getting those huge packages work their ass off all day. Many of them work 12+ hours a day. I personally don’t find it appealing.
3. My company AcadBoost was making more money than the highest package offered in any IIT. Plus, there are a lot of financial advantages in running a business (taxation and otherwise).
4. Today I am a “meri Marzi ka maalik” which personally is more important to me than money. A Job is a job, whether you are working in New York or a simple job in a remote village.
5. I am not someone who spends a lot. You will not see me buying any luxury cars, go for fancy vacations, or buy anything beyond what I truly need. I don’t like materialism and places like USA, Mumbai, Bangalore or Middle East where a lot of IITians work. I love lowkey places like Udaipur (where I currently operate from).
6. I am invited by hundreds of colleges to speak to their students. I have helped millions of students with my content. Thousands have taken our affordable and quality online courses. I don’t think this impact would be possible had I gone for a job.
7. I like what I do. I still believe that I could make more money doing a enterprise tech business, or becoming a VC partner or something. I have the kind of money, connection and experience this needs too. But I just find it dull and materialistic. I would rather make less money and help lakhs of students than make more money building some tech for a large company. I love the students who thank me for my videos/answers. I love it when someone tells me they made it to their dream college after taking our courses. I love what I do, its so fulfilling.
8. I would not call myself unambitious, I keep on looking at other businesses I can launch under the same company (education is still our core offering, but we do some other stuff as well). I just hope to keep this company bootstrapped and grow as much as we can organically without becoming a soulless, money-focused corporate.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—. I took the one less traveled by,. And that has made all the difference.

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