OYO - On Your Own (By Ritesh Agarwal)

Ritesh Agarwal is a burning example of the fact that lack of a degree is no prerequisite for success. Ritesh himself commented that he had failed six times before succeeding with his OYO venture. His words, “If you have not failed, you have not hardened yourself.” The founder and CEO of OYO had quite an impressive journey over the years.

Oyo stands for On Your Own. Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms. Ritesh Launched OYO in May 2013.

Ritesh Agarwal belong to a Marwari family from Bissam Cuttack, Odisha, India and brought up in Titilagarh. Ritesh comes from a family that used to run a small shop in Southern Odisha city called Rayagada and his schooling was completed from Sacred Heart School in Rayagada. At the age of 13, he started selling SIM cards. He graduated from St. Johns Senior Secondary School and moved to Delhi in 2011 for college. He dropped out of college, and was selected for the Thiel Fellowship (started by Peter Thiel) in 2013

Agarwal started a budget accommodation portal, Oravel Stays, for booking budget hotels. It was accepted into the accelerator program by Venture Nursery in September 2012, and later was one of the winners of the 2013 Thiel Fellowship program, receiving a grant of $100,000. The company was launched as OYO Rooms in May 2013.

By September 2018, the company raised $1 billion. In July 2019, it was reported that Agarwal purchased $2 billion in shares in the company, tripling his stake.

His net worth in 2020 was estimated to be approximately $1.1 billion (₹7253 crore) according to Hurun Rich List 2020. As of February 2020, he is the second youngest self-made billionaire in the world after Kylie Jenner. He is listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia.

Development of the pillars – Never Judge a person with his/her Age

Ritesh from a very young age was a tech freak, with a passion to travel around the world. When he started his journey in India, he realized that there is a need for affordable hotels among many frequent travelers, but there were very few providers of service. And if there are few such hotels they are not providing basic amenities for the comfort of the visitors like AC, Wi-Fi, comfy bed and breakfast. Hence Ritesh combined his love to travel with technology to get a functional solution. Hence he kicks started his entrepreneurial journey with help of $100,000 of funds from investors.

After almost his visit to hundreds of hotels, he found that a major problem in the hospitality industry is their non-standard service and unpredictability, which he resolved with help of OYO as a solution, without actually owning the property.

Ritesh has a true inspirational journey at a very young age, and successfully achieved it and became one of the youngest billionaires in the hospitality business. He actually founded the company at the mere age of 19 and made it grow exponentially.

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