Am I a typical or atypical applicant?

Thanks for the kind words about the book!

I actually think that you have a realy strong profile! Re: the family company, one risk would be looking like you only had big positions because you're part of the family. But, all of the success that you've had since then shows that you're truly successful on your own.

The "Indian engineer" thing obvioulsy makes things harder, but you have enough great stuff here (esp. your community involvement and leadership experience on the job) to set yourself apart. As you know from the book, that's critically important. The Bay Area thing could be a knock against you for Stanford and Haas... Again, I think it will be how well you can distinguish yourself from other engineers.

For entrepreneurship, you can't go wrong with any top school. If you're willing to leave the Bay Area for two years, I truly think that your profile is strong enough that you would have a respectable shot at at least a few Top 10 schools.

Scott