OYO: A Success Story Built On A Dream

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OYO, the name says it all. From failing to gain customers and falling apart to becoming the biggest players in the hospitality sector of India, OYO proves that failures should be looked up to as a positive aspect in the journey of success. Ritesh Agarwal, Founder, and CEO of OYO is the man who stood behind all this and took it all alone. In this blog, AVCOE traces the journey of OYO, and makes you look in wonder at the meteoric rise of OYO, in an exceedingly short span of time. From being a hotel-chain startup pursued by an 18-year old college drop-out to becoming an Asian obsession, OYO has its own inspiring story which gradually helped it make its way into the international market.

Ritesh Agarwal, from an aspirer to becoming an inspiration for many

Ritesh Agarwal hails originally from Odisha. He always dreamt of becoming a successful entrepreneur which compelled him to leave his home and college. He moved to Delhi in 2011 to seek his fortune as an entrepreneur. Ritesh Agarwal even sold SIM cards to survive, afraid his well off family would end his entrepreneurial journey and ask him to come back to Odisha if they came to know of his struggles. This 18-year old traveled for months staying at budget hotels, attended customer calls everyday and immersed himself in every possible experience to learn about budget-hotel customers and their expectations. Being a backpacker, he soon realized that the budget hospitality sector lacked predictability and sensed it as an opportunity. This is where OYO came into existence.

OYO’s journey, a steep uphill climb

• In 2011, Ritesh Agarwal took the first step for his start-up and named it Oravel which enabled listing and budget accommodation of hotel rooms.
• In 2013, he got selected for the Thiel Fellowship program which helped him raise a funding of $100,000. He also changed the name from Oravel to OYO.
• In 2015, the OYO app was launched which acted as a catalyst for OYO’s growth and helped in framing its success.
• In 2016, OYO made an advent outside India and conquered the Asian territory as well.

OYO is worth $10 billion dollars now and has become the world’s largest hospitality of hotels and living spaces. This journey definitely has a lot to inspire you to take your first step as an entrepreneur. What’s your excuse now?

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