In the Indian context, this article makes much more sense! Note for instance the opening, "Recently I met with parents of the founder of one of our portfolio c

In the Indian context, this article makes much more sense! Note for instance the opening, "Recently I met with parents of the founder of one of our portfolio companies." :) How many times would PG have met with the parents of a YC founder? Money during bootstrap phase would be from parents -> A middle-class kid fresh out of college, could be easily supported by his parents for 3-5 years, staying at home, with no additional expenses. Given many parents support grad school, supporting their kids while they're working on a startup would not be a stretch (if they agree with this article or see the fire in their kids). If the startup goes anywhere but dead, (in a year or so) the founders would have got a reasonable amount of independent mgmt experience, ability to startup and deliver, and exposure to industry far greater than their peers. Now in India there is a severe lack of middle management capable of independent decision making, project level leadership, and delivery. There is also a shortage of folks who can think at a product and market level, as opposed to a customer/service level. A guy coming out of a startup (even failed) who can demonstrate these skills would be quite better than his peers who may have far more experience in sw development. If the startup fails within a few months or years, worst case, an MBA may be in store, although it would certainly not be as exciting :) Many of the guys who are doing this would probably be of upper-class, or upper-middle class, whose families would certainly encourage such risk taking.