R2I Dilemma - Is wait for GC any worth?

[trueindian]

I came to US with sole intention of getting some education and bit of international exposure. However, US treated me extremely well and I had a very good experience until now.. I learned a lot over the last 4 years, became more independent and more confident to think about starting my own business in India... I had planned to return around July 2010 but right now, I am in a total dilemma...

I came to Chicago USA in Aug 2006, completed my masters in May 2008 and have been working since May 2008 in chicago downtown... Life has been ideal, stay close to downtown, work in downtown and doing well with my job... However, I have this extreme urge to start my own business and have been trying to build it from last 6-8 months... but recently similar business model was launched in india... though i feel there is scope for more players....

My company has been very kind to me... have been working on some really good projects... though I am getting more into the comfort zone now... Company started with GC process last October... PERM was filed in March 2010... in EB2 category... They say they will file the next stage in Dec 2010 and that is when my 2 year contract starts... hence any plans of immediate return to india must occur before Dec 2010 or else I am gonna be here for next 2 years...

I am confident about myself starting business but its a gamble right now... I may fail but I will atleast learn a lot on how to handle other aspects of business... I am a software developer so hiring new people, interacting with vendors etc... is something new for me but I am equally excited to learn about it...

Benefits of staying in US
1) GC process going on... May get one by 2014? Age is on my side... as I am 26.
2) Larger savings since I am single with almost 0 liabilities in USA (no car required since I stay in downtown) but if I continue to stay for GC, marriage might be on cards within 2 years..
3) Company have offered long term bonus and stuff... that may pay me 30-35k in addition to normal year-end bonus by 2012 January...
4) US offers its onw advantages of having a very peaceful life but becomes little less challenging as we settle in job....

Benefits of staying in India
1) Opportunity to start my own venture though its more of a gamble right now... but yes, I will learn and become more confident about myself and would be able to add it to my resume too...
2) Staying alongwith parents as I can do business from Mumbai itself.... and yeah, staying in Mumbaiii....
3) Food and festivals... Parents and friends...
4) It might be more challenging life.... India is booming,...

Main concerns
1) We recently got 2 cr bunglow in Mumbai (my only real asset)... close to our actual house.... we have taken home loan of 60lakhs and I have used up my savings of 20-25 lakhs over last 2 years... for rest of house payment
2) For business, I have capital of just 7-8 lakhs (right now in stocks) but I believe, it may be enough to give me head-start..., though I cant sustain without being profitable... for too long...Education loan has already been paid off since I had funding since second sem and good stipend too...

I have 2 options here:

1) Stay in US for 4 more years... get the GC by then assuming EB2 moves at a good pace... If I do that, I am crushing down my entrepreneurship dreams... but in that case, I may very well do part-time MBA in good business school... Once I have GC and mba too, go for the kill and start my own venture... (age 30) hopefully, home loan burden will reduce a bit too... and will have some more savings to go for setting my own company and more importantly, hire good developers and contribute to Indian economy... Trickier part would be that I have to then convince my wife too after Green card :p

2) Go back to India right away.... drop the plans for all GC crap... give my very best on setting up my startup.... I am ready to work extremely hard for it and I am surely motivated to make it work... In worst case, it will fail but then I have something to show... Yes, I have no concerns about how i will get used to Indian lifestyle and all... I dont live with too many luxuries in US too... except my imac and macbook lol The only risk involved is missing out on GC and any benefit associated with it (I dont know what benefits but everyone tells me that I should have some security and so on and hence the dilemma) The other risk is home loan burden though Dad has given me full assurance that I should not worry about EMI and he and my own sister will be able to handle it from his own business.... though I feel bad about it coz i did not wanted him to worry about EMI and all... he will soon have to worry about sister marriage and all too... so feel bad that if I go back to India right away, I am being little selfish when I should be making life easier for Dad... :(

What are your suggestions? Should I take the plunge? Or should I try to get the GC, get an MBA and then start business little late in 30s while making some hay in America.... I hope my motivation does not go down by then...

Thanks....

[Sid]

Go for it man (I mean R2I)! I think you have it in you, and age is definitely on your side. Just consider few things:

1) Maybe consider staying for just one more year to pay off loan on your house, as much as you can. (Though I'm just wondering, how you were able to purchase a 2 cr house after working for just 2 years, and that too single income. Sounds like a very nicely paying job).

2) Try not to put in your own money for your startup. Get some angel funding, and then some VC funding after couple of years. If you can't sell your idea to an angel/VC investor, then you should evaluate your business plan, if its even a correct one. Try to build a network of like-minded entrepreneurs. Few such networks exist in Bangalore. I don't know if there are any in Mumbai. But its a great motivational tool to have people with similar challenges and problems, around you, to share their experiences.

3) Since you are a US graduate, you can always get H1B much easily than one without a US degree. My perception is that US is going to ease off immigration restrictions for foreigners possessing degrees from US colleges in highly specialized areas, in order to create more jobs in US (Obama made a speech on immigration reforms recently). It might be possible that after 5 years, it might be easier to get a GC for a US degree holder in highly skilled area.

4) Get the **real** cost of starting a start-up in India. Read the experience of this guy who has a startup in India - Costs involved in Starting Up. Also find out if you can sustain yourselves by doing some consultancy work, so that there is some cash flow. India is pretty darn expensive now.
[QUOTE]So overall , you will need about 2.6 lakhs in the first year to get your venture off the ground. Since this does not include any salary and office rent, you would need sufficiently more. For a two people startup, working out of a house (Rs 10,000 a month) and living a very basic life (Rs 20,000 a month), you will need 6 lakhs a year. So overall, you need about 9 lakhs worth of investment to get even an internet startup off the ground.

5) If know for sure that you will be doing an MBA, then consider doing it earlier than later. Class profiles of HBS and Stanford are getting younger. But its a whole another discussion if its worthwhile to do an MBA, and from which college, and the ROI of it, and at what age.

I hope it helps.

[roxstar]

I agree with OP. I think you should go R2I and start your own business. The US GC process as it stands right now has the potential to needlessly suck up some very useful years of your professional life. If you have a decent business idea and think you can pull it off, plunge in into India and see if you sink or swim. You are young, with limited baggage today and in a good position to make some risky bets. You can always come back in a few years for your MBA if needed. Good luck!

[oasis138]

I came to US with sole intention of getting some education and bit of international exposure. However, US treated me extremely well and I had a very good experience until now.. I learned a lot over the last 4 years, became more independent and more confident to think about starting my own business in India... I had planned to return around July 2010 but right now, I am in a total dilemma...

I came to Chicago USA in Aug 2006, completed my masters in May 2008 and have been working since May 2008 in chicago downtown... Life has been ideal, stay close to downtown, work in downtown and doing well with my job... However, I have this extreme urge to start my own business and have been trying to build it from last 6-8 months... but recently similar business model was launched in india... though i feel there is scope for more players....

My company has been very kind to me... have been working on some really good projects... though I am getting more into the comfort zone now... Company started with GC process last October... PERM was filed in March 2010... in EB2 category... They say they will file the next stage in Dec 2010 and that is when my 2 year contract starts... hence any plans of immediate return to india must occur before Dec 2010 or else I am gonna be here for next 2 years...

I am confident about myself starting business but its a gamble right now... I may fail but I will atleast learn a lot on how to handle other aspects of business... I am a software developer so hiring new people, interacting with vendors etc... is something new for me but I am equally excited to learn about it...

Benefits of staying in US
1) GC process going on... May get one by 2014? Age is on my side... as I am 26.
2) Larger savings since I am single with almost 0 liabilities in USA (no car required since I stay in downtown) but if I continue to stay for GC, marriage might be on cards within 2 years..
3) Company have offered long term bonus and stuff... that may pay me 30-35k in addition to normal year-end bonus by 2012 January...
4) US offers its onw advantages of having a very peaceful life but becomes little less challenging as we settle in job....

Benefits of staying in India
1) Opportunity to start my own venture though its more of a gamble right now... but yes, I will learn and become more confident about myself and would be able to add it to my resume too...
2) Staying alongwith parents as I can do business from Mumbai itself.... and yeah, staying in Mumbaiii....
3) Food and festivals... Parents and friends...
4) It might be more challenging life.... India is booming,...

Main concerns
1) We recently got 2 cr bunglow in Mumbai (my only real asset)... close to our actual house.... we have taken home loan of 60lakhs and I have used up my savings of 20-25 lakhs over last 2 years... for rest of house payment
2) For business, I have capital of just 7-8 lakhs (right now in stocks) but I believe, it may be enough to give me head-start..., though I cant sustain without being profitable... for too long...Education loan has already been paid off since I had funding since second sem and good stipend too...

I have 2 options here:

1) Stay in US for 4 more years... get the GC by then assuming EB2 moves at a good pace... If I do that, I am crushing down my entrepreneurship dreams... but in that case, I may very well do part-time MBA in good business school... Once I have GC and mba too, go for the kill and start my own venture... (age 30) hopefully, home loan burden will reduce a bit too... and will have some more savings to go for setting my own company and more importantly, hire good developers and contribute to Indian economy... Trickier part would be that I have to then convince my wife too after Green card :p

2) Go back to India right away.... drop the plans for all GC crap... give my very best on setting up my startup.... I am ready to work extremely hard for it and I am surely motivated to make it work... In worst case, it will fail but then I have something to show... Yes, I have no concerns about how i will get used to Indian lifestyle and all... I dont live with too many luxuries in US too... except my imac and macbook lol The only risk involved is missing out on GC and any benefit associated with it (I dont know what benefits but everyone tells me that I should have some security and so on and hence the dilemma) The other risk is home loan burden though Dad has given me full assurance that I should not worry about EMI and he and my own sister will be able to handle it from his own business.... though I feel bad about it coz i did not wanted him to worry about EMI and all... he will soon have to worry about sister marriage and all too... so feel bad that if I go back to India right away, I am being little selfish when I should be making life easier for Dad... :(

What are your suggestions? Should I take the plunge? Or should I try to get the GC, get an MBA and then start business little late in 30s while making some hay in America.... I hope my motivation does not go down by then...

Thanks....

I didint understand one thing - why do you need a GC? If you want to stay in US for good or have that option you will need USC which at current pace will take you to around 2019 minimum....again what do you need GC/USC for?

[trueindian]

#sid_earth

Thanks for your encouraging words. :)
1) Yes, staying one year is an option that I am evaluating too... but I hope its not x=x+1 syndrome... my apologies.. 2 cr is not what i saved... I just had a normal software engineer job and advanced to being senior software engineer with decent pay... My savings over last 2 years has been meager... 20-25 lakhs.. As I said, I took 60 lakhs home loan and rest has been paid by dad and by selling our existing home...

2) yes, getting an angel investor is an option but then I dont really have mind-blowing ideas.. just determination to start my own software company and develop services for Indian masses :)

3) Agreed with getting H1b again easily but then I dont want to go to India with mindset of coming back if i fail... If I fail, I would like to evaluate at that point instead of having that mindset when I go now.. but yes, agreed with that...

4 and 5 -- thanks that something for me to research upon... Thank you very much for the link and valuable input... really appreciate it...

#roxstar
Thanks again for encouraging words... yes, its all about if I can swim or sink... worst case, I sink but then I have something to put on my resume... yes, luckily no baggage right now and few more years, I am afraid I will have more baggage...

#oasis138
Do I need GC/USC? I dont know... Many people i know back in India suggests that I might just get one for future safety.... though many do not understand the headache involved in maintaining the GC status... People here suggests the same that since GC process is already under way, why not sacrifice for couple of years... after hearing so many convincing voices, I started to ask myself more about it and hence the dilemma of GC/USC.. But yes, there is no other concrete reason.. I plan to settle in India for sure and I am very confident about that (atleast at this point in my life)... so GC can just give me ability to travel to usa freely/find jobs again if need be.... nothing else...

[Sid]

I dont really have mind-blowing ideas.. just determination to start my own software company and develop services for Indian masses :)

What's stopping you from starting to build your code, while you are still working with your employer? Are your work days 13 hour long? If not, then counting weekends, you can easily start spending at least 20 hours per week on the simple ideas you have. This will allow you to find out if your ideas are really worthwhile for the Indian masses.

It is really important to have that one business idea, worth leaving your job and risking your career. You need to be at least moderately sure. Most start-ups are found during college or while working for an employer. But no one drops out of college or leaves their employer without having that idea or epiphany. I actually know few desis who are working on their startups while currently employed with their employer. They have working products and websites, and have plans to leave their job once they get enough VC funding to sustain themselves and grow their team. And they are in US. For a lot of their code, they give out a contract to some Russian programmer, or some Indian programmer, and get it done for cheap. They are able to do that because they have their current US salaries. In past 1 year, they have burnt close to 10K USD on all their costs.

But this allowed them to find out if they have it in themselves to work long hours on their idea; and if their idea is good enough.

[Sid]

Chew on this: A lot of entrepreneurs have spouses who were the bedrock of support during the initial struggle period, and actually financially supported their spouse during the startup phase, or supported by joining them in the startup.

I'm not asking you to get married ;-) but you definitely don't want to be 30 and broke in 4 years, and in India looking for a bride. You won't have much chances :-) Sadly, in India, employers, relatives, and ladki-waale, don't think too highly of the entrepreneurial types. It **might** be a little hard for you to get a job in India if you were to start looking for one in 3-4 years, after working in your own company, and not succeeding. You may say that you don't care about what people think and say, but it makes a lot of difference. At least you won't be dealing with unnecessary pressures and family politics.

So don't burn your personal cash. If you are gonna be broke, its better to be broke in US. At least your next employer, or the MBA adcom, are going to think highly of you. You don't need to R2I to have a startup solving problems for Indian masses. Once you have some clarity, of course go back.

[trueindian]

What's stopping you from starting to build your code, while you are still working with your employer? Are your work days 13 hour long? If not, then counting weekends, you can easily start spending at least 20 hours per week on the simple ideas you have. This will allow you to find out if your ideas are really worthwhile for the Indian masses.

It is really important to have that one business idea, worth leaving your job and risking your career. You need to be at least moderately sure. Most start-ups are found during college or while working for an employer. But no one drops out of college or leaves their employer without having that idea or epiphany. I actually know few desis who are working on their startups while currently employed with their employer. They have working products and websites, and have plans to leave their job once they get enough VC funding to sustain themselves and grow their team. And they are in US. For a lot of their code, they give out a contract to some Russian programmer, or some Indian programmer, and get it done for cheap. They are able to do that because they have their current US salaries. In past 1 year, they have burnt close to 10K USD on all their costs.

But this allowed them to find out if they have it in themselves to work long hours on their idea; and if their idea is good enough.

I have already been doing that for past 6-8 months building slowly and steadily...... I already have my website built in RoR with the basic features I need for launch... I had hired 1 designer too for logos and stuff... and I plan to hire another one to give the finishing touch to website look and feel... I can actually launch it in a month or two, if I say quit today and take flight tomm.... I have not done much about the other part of business where I need to interact with third-party vendors back in India... Sadly, I need to be physically present in India to actually strike deal with these vendors and handle other logistics... and that has been bothering me over the past 3 months as I cant do much now sitting here...

[trueindian]

yes, totally agree about your other reply too... on how it might backfire if I am in India, broke and then struggling to find a job.... and I understand by what you mean about how people look at entrepreneurial types :)

The other competitor (actually couple of them with 1 big player) who launched a similar service... is not finding huge success either as people dont go online much back in India.... though it may change slowly...

[Sid]

I have already been doing that for past 6-8 months building slowly and steadily...... I already have my website built in RoR with the basic features I need for launch... I had hired 1 designer too for logos and stuff... and I plan to hire another one to give the finishing touch to website look and feel... I can actually launch it in a month or two, if I say quit today and take flight tomm.... I have not done much about the other part of business where I need to interact with third-party vendors back in India... Sadly, I need to be physically present in India to actually strike deal with these vendors and handle other logistics... and that has been bothering me over the past 3 months as I cant do much now sitting here...

That is great. This shows that you really are serious about your venture, and have thought things through. I think you have already crossed the first and biggest hurdle - which is to Start Up. Congratulations on that.
You are right, that if its an India focused business model, then you definitely need to be on the ground. Then again, to lower the sticker shock, you may want to think about joining a software company in India at the start, and continue to build your product and vendor network.

A plan may be: R2I during the holiday period of October-Nov. Use the period of Nov-Jan in settling down, and fine tuning your product. In Jan end, when people are back from vacations etc, go full steam ahead.

(RoR is very nice. This experience might actually allow you to do some part-time contract work too, if you start getting short of cash.)