World · India Bureau
IIT Madras Student Who Failed JEE Raises $1.1 Million for Startup
Kuldeep Rathour, who did not clear the Joint Entrance Examination, has built a successful venture through IIT Madras's online degree programme. His startup SamanNow has secured significant seed funding, demonstrating that conventional entrance exam success is not a prerequisite for entrepreneurial achievement.
LSN India ·
Success in India's competitive academic landscape does not always begin with top entrance exam rankings, as evidenced by the trajectory of Kuldeep Rathour. Despite failing to clear the JEE, a gateway examination for India's premier engineering institutes, Rathour has emerged as a successful entrepreneur through an alternative educational pathway.
Rathour leveraged the flexibility offered by IIT Madras's online Bachelor of Science programme to pursue both academic credentials and business ventures simultaneously. This dual approach enabled him to gain engineering knowledge while developing his entrepreneurial ideas without the constraints of traditional full-time campus study.
His startup venture, SamanNow, has attracted investor confidence, securing $1.1 million in funding. The achievement underscores a growing recognition in India's startup ecosystem that educational pedigree and entrance exam performance, while valuable, do not solely determine entrepreneurial success. The funding validates Rathour's business model and demonstrates market demand for his venture.
The trajectory reflects broader shifts in India's education and employment landscape, where online degree programmes and alternative credentials are increasingly accepted as viable paths to professional achievement. Rathour's success story may inspire other aspiring entrepreneurs who did not follow conventional academic routes through India's top-tier engineering colleges.