Why billionaire dropout stories can be misleading for young Indians, says Edelweiss MF chief

Social media is often flooded with lists celebrating billionaire entrepreneurs who dropped out of school or college before building successful companies. While these stories can be inspiring, they also risk creating unrealistic expectations among young people, according to Niranjan Avasthi, President of Edelweiss Mutual Fund.

Reacting to a viral graphic featuring entrepreneurs such as Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, DMart founder Radhakishan Damani, CRED founder Kunal Shah, OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal, Physics Wallah founder Alakh Pandey and others, Avasthi cautioned against drawing the wrong lessons from their journeys.

"These stories inspire, but they are also misleading," Avasthi said.

According to him, these entrepreneurs did not become successful because they dropped out of school or college. Instead, they succeeded despite doing so, thanks to an unusual combination of talent, timing, resilience and execution that very few people possess.

"People on such lists didn't succeed because they dropped out. They succeeded despite dropping out, with rare talent, timing, and resilience that most of us simply don't have," he said.

The Edelweiss MF executive argued that such examples suffer from what is commonly known as survivorship bias—a tendency to focus only on extraordinary success stories while ignoring the far larger number of people who followed a similar path but failed.

He pointed out that for every entrepreneur who built a billion-dollar company after leaving formal education, there are millions who struggle to earn even a basic livelihood. Looking only at successful outliers can distort perceptions of risk and make unconventional career choices appear more achievable than they actually are.

Avasthi stressed that education continues to be one of the most reliable pathways for improving economic mobility, particularly in a country like India.

"Good education remains the surest shot to come out of poverty for most," he said.

While acknowledging the achievements of high-profile entrepreneurs, he urged students and young professionals not to treat their journeys as a universal blueprint for success.

"Respect the exceptions but don't romanticise their path. These are their stories and not a template for success that anyone can follow," he added.

India has produced several prominent founders who either never completed formal education or left college to pursue entrepreneurial ambitions. However, many of them built their businesses after years of experimentation, repeated failures and relentless execution — factors that are often overlooked in simplified social media posts highlighting only their educational qualifications.

Experts have long argued that entrepreneurial success depends on multiple variables, including access to capital, mentorship, market timing, innovation and persistence. While formal education is not a prerequisite for building a successful company, it continues to provide valuable skills, networks and opportunities that improve long-term career prospects for the vast majority of people.

Avasthi's comments serve as a reminder that exceptional success stories can inspire ambition, but they should not replace informed decision-making. For most young Indians, education remains a far more dependable foundation than betting on becoming the next billionaire dropout.

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