Not just the start up in general its a little to hire good developers in India. Not because they are unavailable, but because they are often lost in the huge crowd rush. The general good folks that come out IIT's and REC's do either join a company like Google or alike. Or Write a entrance exam like CAT to work for some investment bank. Or do their MS in US and permanently plan to settle down some where in the west. In other words they just don't want to be a part of the system at all. Barring a few.

The other good folks have a very terrible problem they are forced to run with the crowd. Often they get hired by the IT big giants. The scenario there is pretty different. In the 90's and early 2000's most of them in such companies got promoted very early to managerial designations, went to onsite location like the US. Got very rich due to stocks, money earned in foreign location(due to foriegn exchange) and the hikes from promotion. They have a lot of money and give a damn on how things run, they have nothing to loose after all.

When folks join such big companies often these are the sort of people whom they meet and are forced to draw inspiration from. Most managers have hardly coded and don't know a jack about technical stuff.And since the hurry is to now become a manager, buy a flat, a car, marry with rich dowry and settle down. The struggle happens on three counts and chief being get rich as early as you can, BY ANY MEANS you can. So since now becoming manager is the key, most don't want to code at all. Some how fight, do politics(Which is very common here, due people from so many languages and regions mixing together. there is severe politics and biases towards there respective people) and go to onsite. And if this doesn't happen, go job hopping until you get it.

The sad fact is companies reward jop hoppers but the sincere ones who for long time and perform. I even know few folks who have hopped 5 jobs in 4 years, consider themselves Java expert and don't even what CLASSPATH is. Once they get the tag of 'lead' or alike they think they can just give orders and have servants do the job for them. This how 95% project managers and other designated alike work here. Adding to that to 'CYA' they purposefully promote inefficient folks, I think they a feel a good guy is direct threat to their own position.

The net result is more and more less risks projects are taken by Indian IT giants there days. Most of them in just bench testing and infrastructure management like IT support. And some times the managers are so inefficient they can't execute those projects properly.

Now coming to actually talented folks, we are terribly frustrated crowd. As self taught programmers(From other branches of engineering) and despite our hard work and merit we can neither go to companies like Google, because they treat non-CS and non-IIT folks like 'mud blood muggles' nor work for start ups. Start ups are mostly from MBA types who believe some how idea is all that matters and programmers are like typists whom they can just use and throw.

There is no easy way out of this problem. At least with the current social set up in India. Sometimes I feel I must immigrate to the US( Like Russians did frustrated with the system there.).

But no, this is my country. I will stay here and fight the system. And will do everything I can to make my country a better place and have genuinely good guys get what they deserve.