India, Sept. 6 -- A student who once lost a major university scholarship after choosing projects and internships over academics has shared how that decision changed his career. Satyam, a LinkedIn user, said he decided to "take a bet" on himself despite being warned that it was a bad idea. Years later, the choice helped put him on the path to building his own company, backed by a major startup accelerator.

Sharing his journey on LinkedIn, Satyam wrote, "I got the biggest scholarship in my 1st year and then lost it."

He recalled arriving in Canada and receiving one of the university's biggest scholarships, which was awarded to only three students that year. With financial constraints at the time, the scholarship was particularly important...