To examine how students today are thinking about placements, risk, and early entrepreneurship, we spoke to Shekar Nair, Coach, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Upekkha, an early-stage accelerator and fund for Indian founders building AI software.
His vantage point places him in constant conversation with first-time founders, including those deciding between a stable job and a serious idea.
His observations offer clarity on what motivates young builders, the signals that matter, and the realities behind the choices they face.
1. What changes have you seen in first-time founders today compared to ten years ago?
A decade ago, most people started up after a few years at Infosys or Google or maybe after an MBA. Today, founders are younger, bolder, and shaped by hackathons, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, and role models.
Many come straight from tier 1 and tier 2 colleges and they are asking sharper questions: “Can I build something globally relevant from day one?” or “Why should I wait five years to be ready?” Technology diffusion, especially AI, has levelled the field.
2. Among the founders you meet, how many walk away from offers or overseas study, and what usually drives that choice?
Quite a few have walked away from established company offers. Mostly the reasons are: “I did not want to work for someone else,” or “I want ownership of my time, decisions, and upside,” or “I had experienced this problem and I know I can solve it for a large market.”
The ones who are most likely to succeed are the ones who are addressing a problem they felt personally or saw repeatedly during an internship or research project.
3. When a recent graduate wants to skip placements and start up, what tells you they are ready, and what tells you it is just excitement
A signal that convinces me they are ready is when they have had a lot of conversations with real users, and can tell clearly what problem they are solving and for whom. What sounds to me like excitement more than readiness: “I have an awesome idea that I plan to build.” Ready founders are talking to users. Excited ones are talking to investors or friends.
4. What shifts in the startup ecosystem have made entrepreneurship feel like a realistic option for young Indians?
We are in a golden window of ecosystem shifts that make entrepreneurship feel super realistic for young Indians today. Technology diffusion means first-time founders have as much knowledge as experienced founders because knowledge is easily accessible. There is also a significant increase in the capital ecosystem with incubators, early stage accelerators, and venture capitalists. Ten years ago, this ecosystem looked like a jungle that only experts could navigate. Today, it is a maze with visible entries and exits, with guides and resources along the way.
5. Where do young founders misjudge the risk of skipping placements, and what can go wrong when that leap is taken too early?
Most founders mistake starting up with succeeding in a startup.
They do not realise that this is a mission and a marathon and that you need to be ready to suffer through years of uncertainty to build a successful outcome.
A significant percentage of startups do not get institutional funding. I see sharp graduates who have skipped their campus offers, super enthusiastic about their idea, without any customer validation, burning their savings building a fancy product and struggling without product market fit or traction.
6. If a final-year student is torn between a job offer and a serious startup idea, how should they think through that decision?
I would ask them: Is your startup solving a real pain for someone today, or is it a cool idea in search of a problem? Have you validated it with any real users? Do you have a 12-month survival plan, financially, if things do not work?
I would tell them, your idea may be strong, but if your conviction is not stronger and validated by users, and if you do not have co-founders who are equally committed to struggle through several years of uncertainties, take the job, save capital, and come back when you are ready to go all in.
