We are all jealous of something or someone in our life. Be it a person, a trait, a school, a car, etc, etc.What I have always been jealous of is someone’s intelligence.And us Indians have always been made to feel jealous of the IIT’ians.Indian parents leave no stone un-turned in making their child believe that studies are everything and academic brilliance will always mean success.Trust me when I say this, I thought throughout my childhood that Sachin Tendulkar was an IIT’ian.Someone getting into an IIT has always meant Einstein Level IQ, Great Thoughts, No Wrong decisions by that person, He will be a genius at everything he does.But recently, all that has changed with the Startup culture emerging in India.
IIT’ians top the list in India where Startups are concerned. They have started the maximum companies and the most successful ones were also their creation.But this list also brings in a great read. Why? Do you know how many IIT’ians backed startups that failed in the last 3 years?Suddenly, they are all human now.Their intellectual greatness cannot be questioned by mortals like me, or infact anybody who has spent more than half his life feeling jealous of them.But now we also know that they too, can fail. Just like me and other half retards.
It gives me a sense of belonging in this world. A world where IIT’ians backed hyped start ups like Housing, Dazo and TalentPad failed and a company called Just Dial, started by a meager marketing executive bagged one of the biggest IPOs in Indian Tech history.Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to pacify myself with their failure. They did not fail. They learnt a lesson. And so did everybody else. Brilliant people make mistakes too. So if you have failed, let that not fool you to call yourself one.You just came one step closer to being an IIT’ian.
Cheers.
Mohit Nayar
You can reach out to me on twitter @MohitNayar25