B-school students go it alone in Mumbai

They could be earning more than Rs 20 lakh a year in their 20s. Instead, some students from the current batch of Mumbai’s elite B-schools and engineering institutes have opted out of the placement process in order to become entrepreneurs, choosing to work out of makeshift offices as they build their own start-ups.

They could be earning more than Rs 20 lakh a year in their 20s. Instead, some students from the current batch of Mumbai’s elite B-schools and engineering institutes have opted out of the placement process in order to become entrepreneurs, choosing to work out of makeshift offices as they build their own start-ups.

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“When everyone had great placements this year, I was tempted to participate. But I know I want to be my own boss and not be stuck in a boring job,” said Nitesh Wagle, a student of Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B).

Wagle, 20, one of four IIT-B students who did not participate in the placement process this year, has created a mobile application to enable free live SMS chats (similar to the Blackberry Messenger service) across networks. Although Wagle has no office yet, he has already tied up with a UAE-based company.

While institutes encourage entrepreneurship, few students take the risk. “We offer deferred placements, where students can try something for two years and, if it fails, come back to the placement process,” said Abbasali Gulaba, placement dean with SP Jain Institute of Management Research, where one student from a batch of 187 opted out of campus placements this year.