'If I were 25 again…': Indian-American CEO says he would not have come to US

Indian-American CEO Srini Madala who came to the US in 1986 and then went on to make it big in a foreign land as he founded three startups said he would not have come to the US now. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle on how American Dreams are changing, Madala said: “If I were 25 again and had the same opportunities,I would not come to the US.“The SF Chronicle report featured the Indian-Americans behind the success of Silicon Valley and asked them whether they would still come to the US now. Most of them came to the US at a time when they were the only Indians at a board meeting in Silicon Valley. But now the situation has changed and so did the definition of the American Dream.Madala came to the US for higher studies after his mechanial engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal and a diploma in industrial engineering from the National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai (Now IIM-Mumbai). In the US, he attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Who is Srini Madala?

Madala founded SoftSol Inc. and the SoftSol group of companies. He served as the Chairman and CEO until early 2012, and is currently Chairman of the Board of the SoftSol group of companies. Srini served on the Board of Directors at KQED, a nonprofit public media organization in San Francisco, and has also served the city of Monte Sereno in the capacity of Site and Architecture Commissioner.Madala branched out as a philanthropist both in the US and in India. Srini is involved in multiple charitable activities, including personal contributions for nonprofits in health, education, and entrepreneurship. He has conceived and helped create Center for Community Development, at Varni, Nizamabad District, Telangana, a rural town in India for the development targeting a population of 500,000 in a 300 sq. mile area. As a Charter Member of TiE Silicon Valley, he assisted and mentored aspiring entrepreneurs. In 2025, Madala donated $100,000 to his alma mater, IIM-Mumbai.