Samir Kapadia seemed to be on the rise in Washington, moving from an internship on Capitol Hill to jobs at a major foundation and a consulting firm. Yet his days, he felt, had become routine. Meanwhile, friends and relatives in India, his native country, all in their early- to mid-20s, were telling him about their lives in that newly surging nation. One was creating an e-commerce business, another a public relations company, still others a magazine, a business incubator and a gossip and events website.
“I’d sit there on Facebook and on the phone and hear about them starting all these companies and doing all these dynamic things,” recalled Kapadia, 25, who was born in India but grew up in the United States. “And I started feeling that my 9-to-5 wasn’t good enough anymore.” Last year, he quit his job and moved to Mumbai.