RITESH AGRAWAL

INTRODUCTION

Ritesh AgarwalisanIndianentrepreneur,the
founderandCEOofOYORooms-thefastest
growingBrandednetworkofhotelsoffline&
online.

Hestartedhisentrepreneurialjourneyatthe
ageof17andisconsideredtobeoneofthe
youngestCEOsinIndia.

HOW DID HIS JOURNEY BEGINS ?

BornonNovember16,1993,inBissam
CuttackinOrissaandbelongtoabusiness
classfamily.

Interestingly,hehadstartedcodingwhenhe
wasjusteightyearsoldandbythetimehe
reachedhis10thgrade,hehadakeen
interestinsoftwareandmadeuphismind
thathewantedtotakeupcodingforaliving.

In2009,duringhiscoachingforIIT,started
writingabookIndian Engineering Colleges: A
Complete Encyclopedia of Top 100 Engineering
Colleges.Thisbookturnedouttobecomehuge
onFlipkartandwassoldoutinawhiletoo.

Whenheturned16,Riteshwaschosenamongthe
240childrentobeapartoftheAsianScience
CampheldattheTataInstituteofFundamental
Research(TIFR)inMumbai.


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PROFESSIONAL LIFE

In2011,RiteshmovedtoDelhiwithintentionsofstarting
upsomethingofhisownandatthesametimetoprepare
forSATtomovetotheUSforfurtherstudies.

HehadjoinedtheUniversityofLondonsindian
campus,butjustafterthreedaysofjoininghefeltthathe
couldntcontinue.

Soon,hestartedtravellingextensivelyacrossindiaat
theageof17andstayedinPGs,budgethotelduetohis
stayexperienceshefelttolaunchOravelstaysin2012.

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ORAVEL TO OYO ROOMS

OravelStaysPvt.Ltdwashisfirststartupinthe
year2012.Oravelwasdesignedasaplatformto
enablelistingandbookingofbudgetand
premiumaccommodations.

Insimplerterms,itwasmeanttobedestination
forshortandmidtermrentalsforbedand
breakfastjoints,privateroomsandserviced
apartments.

Soon,Agrawalrealisedthatjustacombination
ofbedanddinnerwouldnotfulfillthe
expectationsofbudgettravelersinIndiasohe
transformedOravelstaystoOYOROOMS,
2013withthekeypropositionofoffering
affordableandstandardizedaccommodation.

Contd

OYO RoomsisIndia'slargestbrandednetwork
ofbudgethotelchain.Itcurrentlyoperatesin
morethan160Indiancitiesincludingmajor
metros,regionalhubs,leisuredestinationsand
pilgrimagetowns,withacurrentvaluationof
nearly360Cr.

OYORoomsmobileapphasbeenlaunched
downloadedmorethan160,000timesand
morethan20,000bookingshavebeenmade
sofar.

Theappranksamongstthebest-ratedappson
GooglePlayStoreandhasalsobeenlistedas
oneofthetopthreeappsintheTravel&
Localcategory.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

FirstresidentAsiantowinThielFellowship,2013.

Top50Entrepreneursin2013byTATAFirstDot
poweredbyNENAwards.

Namedasoneofthe'8HottestTeenageStartUp
FoundersintheWorld'in2013byBusinessInsider.

TiE-LumisEntrepreneurialExcellenceAwardin
2014&BusinessWorldYoungEntrepreneurAward
in2015.

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