[solutionyogi]

It's all about risk vs reward. Most of the IIT kids come from middle or lower middle class families. Generally, affluent kids don't really bother with IIT as it requires a lot of hard work to get into.

I grew up in lower middle class and my dad worked really hard to put me through school. I did freelancing to pay for my own college. (I studied in NIT, not IIT). After I finished graduation, I wanted to earn money so that I can support my family. There is no way, I could have told my family that I want to take a chance on this start up for an eventual big exit.This was not the only major factor. I had a 'scooter' when I went to college as I couldn't afford motorbike. As a young 21 year old, I wanted to get a well paid IT job so that I can buy the bike (and other toys) that I have been eyeing for so long. When you have just graduated after working so hard, you want to reap the rewards right away. I can bet that good number of IIT grads feel that way.

Let's fast forward to 2012. I have a friend, who studied at IIT-Mumbai, quit a well paying job in the USA and went to Bangalore to start a data warehouse startup. Another friend decided to go to India and start his own gym. After working for 7 years in the USA, I have made some savings and I think I can now take chances. I have been working on my idea on side and see if I can quit full time job.