Dhruvi Patwa, an Indian techie who had a lucrative job at Google, came back to India in 2024 after turning down the opportunity to get promoted, deciding instead to build something from the ground up in her home country.
In a LinkedIn post, she has elaborated on her reasons for leaving such a coveted job. “At 24, I joined Google as a Product Manager, leading growth and driving revenue for App Ads, my dream role at the time. Three years later, I made a conscious choice to return to India and start over to build again, this time for a purpose closer to home.”
A year and a half after joining Google, Patwa's hard work was recognised with a promotion. It was supposed to mark a defining moment in her career, one many spend a lifetime chasing.
However, her reaction to the offer was unexpected. “Okay… what next?” “The chase felt suddenly over,” she told the Financial Express.
The experience lingered in her mind. As she contemplated the road ahead, two possibilities emerged. One was the conventional path: advancing as a Senior Product Manager and climbing further up the technical ladder. The other was uncharted and risky, yet electrifying: creating something entirely her own.
On the surface, Patwa's career at Google seemed flawless. Yet beneath the shine, there were invisible constraints. One was control over her own life. The H-1B visa, a coveted opportunity, also brought limitations.
She was bound to her employer. Leaving to pursue her own venture wasn't just a career move; it carried legal and structural hurdles. Even amid success, she recognised that her time and her capacity to take risks were not entirely her own.
“The H-1B visa, while a privilege, also came with real constraints,” she said.
“At the same time, I was watching India's startup ecosystem evolve rapidly. Since around 2016, the momentum and scale of what was being built back home had grown significantly. I felt a stronger pull to build in a market I deeply understood and emotionally belonged to,” she said.
After moving to India, Dhruvi started working with a bootstrapped hair care and colour brand, the report added. Her aim is to build the brand using her own channels from ground zero. Dhruvi added that she made sure that she was financially ready to move to India for a fresh start.
She confessed, “In the initial months, I questioned whether I had moved too soon. But many things also fell into place." Being close to family gave her emotional strength, and she finally had the energy to focus on health and interests outside work, she added.
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