Confusion
Suddenly, I have been struck with self doubt ahead of my departure to Carnegie Mellon. Is it worth spending $40,000 over a 1 year MS, and then spend 2 years trying to save back that much money, and then spend 2 more years actually acquiring a bank balance worth mentioning?
Would I not be better off starting up? There seems to be a great demand for any biological molecule produced by fermentation. What others are doing inspires me (Stud with itasveer, Rana with his hotel, etc.), and also tells me that I am going for too staid an option. Why is that? Why can I not do something more interesting?
But do I have the guts to start-up (and in that process say no to CMU?)
Help!!
Would I not be better off starting up? There seems to be a great demand for any biological molecule produced by fermentation. What others are doing inspires me (Stud with itasveer, Rana with his hotel, etc.), and also tells me that I am going for too staid an option. Why is that? Why can I not do something more interesting?
But do I have the guts to start-up (and in that process say no to CMU?)
Help!!
posted by Raghav at 7:44 PM
16 Comments:
if you are really interested in environment and management as you have been harping for more than a couple of years, then who cares whether its a staid or interesting job?? and that trying to build a bank balance after 3 years, its a secondary thing. You are at least getting the money back so thats not an issue and that while remaining in the field you like or is it not??
i think finally the question is... will u feel this one year was a waste... if u like it...the balance.... and the repaying all wont count... there are years more to enjoy :)
the main point is whether or not it is a good idea to be bankrupt at the age of 26
I see that your biggest concern is how soon you get rich (duh myself) - spend a more definite (1+2+2) years or spend 2 years (the latter obviously with a lot of optimism and luck).
First off, do a reality check - is it really gonna be three years before you pay off your loan? The possibilities are:
a) There are lots of opportunities to get some sort of funding when you are there - RAships, TAships , Scholarships etc. (and other of the non-Titanic variety) - find out from other people already there - you might not pay off 38k, but you will have to pay off a lesser amount
b) Perhaps you will feel the need for a PhD, after your MS - It's Biotech after all (correct me if I am wrong here) - can you find out what opportunites exist at the end of an year at CMU?
c) Consider the probabability that your company (if you work for one) will pay off your loan - of course that means you have to stick with the company - but that already marks the beginning of the third phase of your plan (the 2 years for getting rich part)
Thats what I can suggest now - and if you are really weighing the other possibility (starting up) - you have some time before you go - (besides doing all of the above - ahem ahem!) try to give your idea a little more form - which molecule if any - is TBIU a possibility, (speak to some good profs - highly unlikely in our dep - but I think Mittal is a good bet - unless he has also mutated into something more akin to our older department profs). Good luck
@jassi - i am considering it right now
@jassi - u r right, but then when do i start up? is this not the time to start? in addition to the excitement, i also want to start, and that time is not later, but ratehr now.
Am I right?
Well i think ashish and jassi have answered the money problem to some extent. Its not that u will be bankrupt by 30. You can postpone your lone instalments for the sake of security. Or maybe you will find TAship/RAship/schol or something equivalent. Or maybe you land up with a company which can pay off your loan, or if not, it pays enough that you do not need 2 years to 'save' that much money.
About the alternative, i.e. , start-up. Well...
1) Idea. Do you have one??
2) A Team. I do not know about stud and rana....but i know bout some startups in my hostel( foodlet and another ERP making firm). They had a team of like-minded(read entrepreneurship ke funde vaale guys) who were willing to put a lot at stake. And don't tell me, you can do this alone.
3)A mentor. I don't think any prof in our dep is good enough for that. Maybe Sahai coz he has some business sense. But would you go with him? Subash Chand and Bisaria sound good, plus they have contacts as well.
AM is aggressive and enthusiastic. But does he have the network. To me, he looks like the senior-most partner of any project, not a mentor.
Again, you know them better.
4)Funding. I remember Amit Chander( was that his name?? the civil passout from IITD at Biohorizon) telling me how they weigh business plans. Your educational background of course gets a weightage. And foreign PhDs or masters score heavily over others. "Obviously", he said, "its safer to fund a start-up if you have a degree from ths states." Although he had supported only one biotech start-up and it was still in the incubation phase then.
Bottomline, if you think the time for a strat-up is now, why can't the same time come later.
@sahil
u r right, sahil, but what according to u is the right age to start up. Do you have the guts to start up when u have a family and also stake their future on ur venture?
I am not sure that i do.
And do u agree with Amit Chander's rationale? How would a foriegn degree help? And further, how do I find a team here after studying there? How do I network well?
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Do you have the guts to start up when u have a family and also stake their future on ur venture?
Yes, 22 sounds a great age. There'S no family to take care of. But there's no financial backing at all. What if everything screws up. Then I will not only by bankrupt for some time(trying to restore the pieces) but also delaying my marriage( bad one, i know).
I'll definitely be more confident(due to experience) but more afraid(if i am thinking bout my family) at 29 to go for a start-up. At 23, I'm obviously less confident(unless i have a good idea, team, mentor, funds etc etc) and abut equally insecure(no financial back-up).
And do u agree with Amit Chander's rationale? How would a foriegn degree help?
No, I do not agree with his rationale. But is there a rationale in why BCG comes to IITD and not to IITK? Is there a rationale in why Mckinsey recuruits from IITs but not from other engg. colleges? I am sure you would agree with me that branding does matter, and a foreign degree lends a greater credibility to your B-Plan.
And further, how do I find a team here after studying there? How do I network well?
Good question! There is obviously a better chance to network in india than abroad, especially in case of a PhD where half of your colleagues wish to pursue academic careers. But environmental engg. is different, and its an MS program. I'm sure many of your batchmates there would be thinking of joining a company or opening a start-up after MS. Maybe they will be of some help. Plus the profs and the incubators there will be much better than those in india.
Its a very subjective thing. In the end, its all upto whether YOU believe you can network as well there?
@sahil
So is it possible to say which is the best age to start-up? Or rather than age, lets say "which stage in life is the best to start-up?"
Does this question have an answer?
Would we be wasting our time attempting an answer?
One possible answer to the question raised by u is that at 22, i try to start , and do an MBA if i screw up. It is, admittedly, taking the easier way out, but it is a possible solution.
Now, let us play this game with a few constraints. I have an outstanding loan of $38000, graduate with a starting salary of $50000.
I need to repay the loan, also make money, and also start up. However, this start up must be in India
(Note: This is just a scenario that I am trying to conjure up, to role play my future)
So is it possible to say which is the best age to start-up? Or rather than age, lets say "which stage in life is the best to start-up?"
There is no one answer to the question," At what stage of life one should open a start-up?". Some people really need to earn money after 5(or sometimes 7 years) devoted either to IIT or preparing for it. For them , a start-up doesnt provide that scurity, n neither will a PhD. Only a job helps them out.
For those who know that they cannot serve 'under' anybody, and that they have to open a venture; it boils down to the security+confidence paradigm. If you feel that you can gamble with a start-up with a good idea and a decent team now, and are prepared to do an MBA in case it screws up, then this is the correct age. If you thing you need a financial back-up, then you should work for a few years in a consultancy(Kinapse ??)maybe, develop your network, gain more business sense, earn some bank balance to support urself in case everything screws up and then decide to go for a start-up. I am sure than in that case the Idea+Team+mentor thing would be in a better position too.
OR sometimes no job can satisfy one. And the IIT degree is not sufficient to attract VCs. Or one doesnt have an idea at all. Then one can go for higher studies, get a degree, a brand, do some networking, get an idea of what is relevant now..and then either go ahead with the venture or do a job and wait for some more years.
One more thing, don't you think an MBA too will cost some money. After 2 years trying to build a company, you will obviously not do an MBA from IIM. U'll Sit for GMAT and i think an MBA from abroad requires some money atleast.
Now, let us play this game with a few constraints. I have an outstanding loan of $38000, graduate with a starting salary of $50000.
I need to repay the loan, also make money, and also start up. However, this start up must be in India
Now, firstly i don't think you will get a starting salary of only 50K. You are putting too much of a constrint here...i dont know much but every US based job in teh placement season last year was more than 50K. And you are talking about getting a joba n year from now, after masters from CMU, bachelor's from IIT........
Assuming you get a 70K p.a. job, then you can ideally save 38K in 1.5 years....About bank balance, well if you want to finance your own venture yourself then even 2 years won't suffice for that bank balance........you can always come to India with 50K in hand, an idea and do whatever you want to do.
Or, if you really want that bank balancee( of course you do, you will be 26 then and if this whole thing screws up you'll be delaying your marriage essentially by a few years.)...then you can work there for a few years but that doesn't help if its INDIA only where you want to have a start-up. You can also come to India, get a 6-7 lakh p.a. job(Carbon credits?????), find a girl(in case you haven't found one), group all your friends together and at 28, you are ready to have a strat-up!! And don't forget the indian economy and the better incubators in india in 2009.
Now, my turn to ask you something?? Why did you want to have a masters degree in the first place?? Why environmental engg? I am sorry i ve a poor memory..
Btw..i was just reading something about 'Open source biology'. A group in Australia have made a license similar to the GPL(in software) for biology. The IPR issues related to it were an enlightening read.
Somehow i have this feeling IPR issues are going to be very important for future biotech industry.
I am thinking bout Biohorizon as well :)
I didnt know all this was going untill Stud told me about this.
OK, so here is the deal. Ask several questions to yourself.
What do you want to start in?
Do you have the team - people with same interest and who can go ahead with supporting a start-up (more responsibility and lack of security)? Also, I think it's difficult to work out if there are some family obligations.
There is obviously no right age to start-up yaar. I can recall the business plan presented by these DC guys in Biohorizon this time. They were just out of school dude. But, they had an excellent business plan. Also, it was fairly generalistic. So, what I am basically trying to say is - age depends on the kind of business you want to get into and it is only about EXPERIENCE. The more complex your business is the more EXPERIENCE you need.
Market is extremely important. For example: it would be foolish to start a consulting with no experience in the field what so ever. Look for the market first and see who are your customers. I think thats the key to any business.. it should not be started unless you have surety that your product/ services would sell.
Achha ab bahut fatte maar diye maine, I am equally confused about my career nowadays. The point is if you care about the kind of work you want to do, your life becomes extremely difficult because options are narrowed esp if you want to do life science in India (forget biotech). Lets have a chat this weekend about all this.
@Ashwani
sure, we will meet this weekend to talk abt this!!
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