Christine Kelly, Sr MIT faculty, says that start-up ventures in the US & India share similar enthusiasm, but...
A senior faculty member of the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Christine Kelly, said that while start-up companies in US and India share a similar kind of strong enthusiasm and passion, the ones in India have a tougher time.
Sharing her observations of start-up companies in US and India with DNA, Kelly said, "Like in US, I see much energy and excitement here in India, but I think it is much easier to be an entrepreneur in the US than it is here -- since access and connections are more obvious and systematic in the US as compared to that in India. However, in India, I think that the environment is very inspirational for such companies."
Kelly is in India as a mentor of six teams of four students each from MIT who are doing internship with various start-up companies in India in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and others under an MIT course called India Lab.
One of the teams, comprising Ashley Paker, Karen Lozano, Kashyap Patel and Kutral Ramesh who are MBA students of MIT, is also in the city working with a start-up company called Dhama Innovations private limited which is currently being nurtured under the National Design Business Incubator (NDBI) at NID. Kelly said that a significant aspect of MIT is the flexibility in combination of different disciplines of learning from within and outside US. She said, "This kind of learning is our central principal. So, a lab was created to give the students a chance to spend time doing theory in classrooms and the primary and secondary research in other countries and work with entrepreneurs there. After that they go back and integrate the materials, acquire further feedback and synthesize them. So it is a full circle of intensive learning."
Talking about the reasons for choosing India, Kelly said, "Our students go to every country in the world. But in 'India lab' and 'China lab', the focus is to watch and understand the developing countries and the force of their technology and engineering, and business administration. The students themselves choose to be part of it."
The course also has strategic reasons behind its students interning with start-up companies. "If we have the internship with a big company you will never have contact with the upper level of management. Here the teams are working very closely with everyone in the project. This gives an amazing insight into the business in every aspect," Kelly said.
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