Ankoor Warikoo reveals the invaluable lesson he learned after wasting three years as a teenager to get into IIT and failing: 'Nobody asked me...'

Life doesn’t work out the way we plan it, too. It has a way of defying expectations and best-laid plans. Taking to X, entrepreneur-author Ankur Warikoo confessed that he had once desperately wanted to get into IIT. He had dedicated three years of his teenage life to preparing for IIT JEE; he did not succeed.

The setback appeared much more serious at the age of 19 than it would ultimately turn out to be. At the time, the disappointment was almost overpowering because not being accepted to an IIT felt like the collapse of the future his family had envisioned for him.

But decades later, Warikoo's viewpoint has entirely shifted. He noted that his failed IIT attempts had essentially no impact on his life for years. He is now 46 years old. He even mentioned that no one had enquired about his IIT score in the previous twenty-five years.


His story demonstrates how young people can mistakenly believe that a single test or academic failure will define their entire destiny. By the time a person reaches 40, something that seems catastrophic at 19 may have become nothing more than a humorous anecdote. The possibilities, successes, and experiences that come with life's ongoing evolution frequently make those early setbacks seem far less significant than they once were.


Warikoo’s post went viral on X, gaining more than 1,000 likes. One commenter stated, "Exactly this. Everyone around me was caught up chasing Tier 1 and IIT tags, but I never chased that rush. Always believed in proof of work instead; just graduated from a government college and couldn't agree more.”

Warikoo clarified that he would never claim that the IIT or IIM tag did not help – as it did fast-track people’s careers. But it was not the end of the world either. “Education is definitely important, but after reaching a certain level, nobody cares or asks what you did or your degrees, etc. But to reach there, education is still important in India…’ said another follower.

Warikoo holds a BSc degree in physics from Hindu College, Delhi University, and an MS in astronomy and astrophysics from Michigan State University and an MBA in Finance from ISB (Indian School of Business).