Ritesh Agarwal : Success Story of CEO of India's Biggest Hotel Chain OYO

Ritesh Agarwal-The Youngest Billionaire of India has a net worth of around Rs  16000 crores. The most amazing part is Ritesh Agarwal founded OYO when he was just 21 years old. In the span of 10 years OYO became one of the top hotel chains in the world with an approximate valuation of more than Rs 330 crore. Since the inception of OYO, the founder has never looked back. Let us understand The Youngest Billionaire Mr. Ritesh Agarwal success story in detail.

Ritesh Agarwal – Biography
Ritesh Agarwal Early Life and Education

Ritesh Agarwal was born on 16^th November 1993 in a Marwari Family. He was born in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha and bought up in Titilagarh. His family ran a small shop in Rayagada. He graduated from Sacred Heart School and later St. Johns Senior Secondary School before moving to Delhi in 2011 for college.

Ritesh Agarwal Net Worth and Investments

Ritesh Agarwal Net Worth is around Rs 16000 crore. The company has a growth rate of 100 percent over the past four years. Ritesh Agarwal has invested in 27 rounds. Their most recent investment was in First Bud Organics (Angel Round) on Mar 30, 2024.

• Some notable companies in their investment portfolio include Unacademy, Cars24 and Zingbus
• Their investments are primarily in Consumer, Enterprise Applications and 17 more sectors
• Their investment portfolio includes companies in India, Singapore and 1 more

Ritesh Agarwal Family

 Agarwal married Geetansha Sood, a native of Lucknow, on 7 March 2023. Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal and his wife Geetanshi Sood have welcomed a baby boy into their family. 

Ritesh Agarwal – OYO Rooms

• OYO Rooms was founded by Ritesh Agarwal in 2013. At the age of 19 with an initial investment of Rupees 82 lakh Ritesh started OYO as a platform to book budget accommodation. The company began its operations with just five hotels in Gurgaon, India.
• Over the years OYO expanded rapidly and evolved in to one of the largest hospitality chains globally. OYO offers wide range of budget friendly and mid-range accommodations.
• In 2018, Agarwal secured USD 1 billion in funding for his company, a feat that earned him the distinction of becoming the youngest self-made billionaire in India. Following this achievement, he gained recognition as the world’s second self-made billionaire, with Kylie Jenner holding the first position.

How Ritesh Agarwal Started OYO

• Immense love for innovation, Ritesh chose to drop out of college and pursue his vision. At the tender age of 18 in 2012, he embarked on his business career with Oravel Stays, a budget accommodation portal.
• This venture received a grant of Rs 30 lakh and set the stage for his subsequent success. In 2013, at just 19, Agarwal earned a coveted spot in the Thiel Fellowship, initiated by Peter Thiel, securing a USD 100,000 grant to bring his ideas to fruition.
• With this opportunity, he transformed Oravel Stays into OYO Rooms, a disruptive force in the hospitality industry. The success of Oravel Stays laid the foundation for OYO Rooms’ inception in May 2013, marking a significant milestone in Agarwal’s entrepreneurial journey.

 The First Initiative

• OYO started as Oravel Stays, a platform for listing and booking budget accommodations. Agarwal renamed it to OYO in 2013 after receiving a grant of $100,000 from the Thiel Fellowship, a program for young innovators by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. OYO operated on a full-fledged hotel chain model that leased and franchised assets.
• It invested in capex, hired general managers to oversee operations and customer experience, and generated job opportunities for hospitality enthusiasts.  OYO expanded to Malaysia in 2016, its first region outside India. It also introduced dynamic pricing to capitalize on seasonality, demand surges and special events.
• OYO expanded to China, Indonesia, the UK, the US, Europe and the Middle East in 2018 and 2019. It also launched new products and services such as OYO Townhouse, OYO Life, OYO Workspaces, OYO Wizard and OYO OS.
• YO had more than 43,000 properties and 10 lakh (1 million) rooms across 800 cities in 80 countries as of January 2020. It had over 17,000 employees globally.  OYO’s investors included SoftBank Group, Didi Chuxing, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise, Airbnb and China Lodging Group.

 Challenges for OYO

• The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the travel and hospitality industry, reducing the demand for hotel rooms and forcing many hotels to shut down or reduce their capacity.  
• OYO faced allegations of fraud, mismanagement, breach of contract and non-payment from some of its hotel partners, who accused the company of changing the terms of agreements, withholding payments and manipulating data.
• OYO faced regulatory hurdles and legal disputes in some of its markets, such as China, Japan, the US and India. For example, it was sued by a US hotel owner for $8.5 million over alleged fraud and breach of contract. It also faced tax raids and investigations by Indian authorities over alleged tax evasion.
• OYO faced competition from other players in the budget hotel sector, such as Treebo Hotels and FabHotels in India, Huazhu Hotels Group and Meituan Dianping in China, and Airbnb and Booking.com globally.
• OYO faced internal turmoil and layoffs as it tried to cut costs and streamline its operations. It reportedly laid off or furloughed thousands of employees across its markets in 2020 and 2021. It also saw several senior executives leave or resign from the company.
• As a result of these challenges, OYO’s valuation dropped from $10 billion in 2019 to $3 billion in 2020. It also reported a net loss of $510 million in 2021. It struggled to raise new funds from its existing or new investors amid the pandemic-induced crisis.

Ritesh Agarwal – Shark Tank India

• As Shark Tank India Season 3continues to gain momentum amongst audiences, the ‘sharks’ are having their moments on the show. Especially, the new ‘sharks’ joining this season, have been getting a lot of attention.
• Ritesh Agarwal has been appreciated for his pleasant demeanor on the show. He once said in the Shark Tank show – “I personally don’t like to call myself a shark. I am more like a dolphin probably. When I was coming to the show, my motivation was very simple, I want to support founders.
• This has been my goal and Shark Tank has not disappointed me. Great ideas are valuable, but more than that it is the founder and person behind the company that matters. I believe the jockey is more important than the horse.”

 Ritesh Agarwal Personal and Professional Achievements

• Ritesh Agarwal has won many awards and accolades for his work including the Business World Young Entrepreneur Award. He is a regular speaker at entrepreneurial conferences and institutes across India and the world and a fellow of the Thiel foundation.
• All achievements of Ritesh Agarwal have included in a book called “Kaleidoscope” written by him, which has around 25 award-winning short stories, selected amongst several other stories nominated in an online contest organized by SpringTide. Other than that, he loves traveling and going for long drives to unwind himself and likes playing basketball when he is not working.

Lessons You Can Learn From Ritesh’s Story

1. Learn something by doing it: You should be focused on your goals, and learn whatever helps to achieve your goals by practically doing it. Failure is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey, according to Ritesh. He views failure as a stepping stone to success, emphasizing the importance of learning from your mistakes and using them to fuel your growth. Ritesh’s own experiences with failure have taught him valuable lessons and shaped his approach to business. By embracing failure and learning from it, entrepreneurs can become more resilient and better equipped to overcome challenges.
2. Follow your passion: Mr. Ritesh Agarwal said that if you follow your passion, you can achieve your dream faster than others.
3. Create an opportunity to work with entrepreneurs and start-ups: One of Ritesh’s key insights is the importance of building your environment. He suggests attending conferences, seminars, and networking events to connect with like-minded individuals and learn from their experiences. Ritesh also advocates for reading widely from various sources to expand your knowledge and stay informed about industry trends and developments. By immersing yourself in a stimulating environment, you can foster personal and professional growth.
4. If you have advantages, use it: If you find any kind of advantages that our society I providing, use it, do something wild and create a career of your choice.
5. Create a strong network: The most important thing for becoming a successful entrepreneur is to create teams who have the same passion as you.
6. Always be restless: Once you achieve your goal, don’t take a rest, set higher goals, and try to achieve it. In times of trouble, Ritesh advises maintaining patience and stability to avoid demotivation. He warns against volatility, which can disrupt your focus and hinder your progress. By staying grounded and composed, entrepreneurs can navigate challenges more effectively and stay on course toward their goals.