Ritesh Agarwal

Young founders I have seen often hesitate to ask for help. So did I when I was starting out.

Never hesitate to ask for help or reach out. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

📸 Him-eesh Madaan

A new generation of entrepreneurs are putting India’s hinterlands on the world map. To support them, I am pledging an equity-free grant of INR 5 lakh each to four promising start-ups from Ladakh. I will also be actively supporting and mentoring them with The Naropa Fellowship Programme.

Entrepreneurship across smaller towns in India is booming; however, access to capital and resources remains a persistent challenge. By sharing my journey and learnings with these budding startups, I hope to be able to encourage more grassroots entrepreneurship.

The four firms: Siachen Naturals, Ladakh Brew, Nima Goos Goos, and The Forest Collective have stood out for their social impact, distinctive identity, ability to propel the growth of their communities, as well as the conviction of their business models. 

Siachen Naturals: Founded in Sept 2022, they work with the local community of Aranoo Village in the Siachen Valley to cultivate native produce which are used to make ready-to-eat soups with herbs native to the region: www.siachennaturals.com 

Ladakh Brew: Their aim is to preserve the age-old culture & heritage of Chaang (Ladakhi local beer) & bring it to the masses. Founded by 2 women from Ladakh, they have sold 50 bottles so far & are awaiting license from the authorities to ramp up their production.

Nima Goos Goos: The Ladakhi name for ‘Sunflower’. The startup was founded by a group of 4 Ladakhi women, who sell premium variants of herbal teas like stinging nettle, buckwheat, barley and sea buckthorn. In 2022, they sold products worth INR 3 lakh.

The Forest Collective: Founded by Vani Bhatnagar & Pavan Vyas, who are working on innovative ways to eradicate pine-fueled forest fires with their in-house materials & exploring various use cases of them to manufacture wellness products like perfumes & candles.

Being from a small town myself, I resonate with the potential of these startups to create an exponential impact on their communities. I'm truly looking forward to supporting and mentoring them!

My sincerest gratitude to The Naropa Fellowship programme, Dr Pramath Raj Sinha ji, His Eminence Drukpa Thuksey Rinpoche ji for the opportunity to work together & connect with these inspiring leaders of tomorrow.

#startup #entrepreneurship #india

COVID-19’s second wave has been devastating for many. During this time, the wellbeing of OYOpreneurs & their families is our utmost priority. Unfortunately, some of our colleagues have lost their battle with COVID-19 & we hope that our bereavement support will help their kin.

For families of OYOpreneurs who have lost their lives due to COVID:
- OYO to pay full salaries for 8 months & term insurance payout equal to 3 yrs of their annual pay
- Support the education of up to 2 kids for 5 yrs
- Extending group medical coverage to spouse & kids

The battle against COVID is far from over but I hope these initiatives will help ease out the difficulties for the families. We know it's not easy to lose your loved one but irrespective of the circumstance we will support our OYOpreneurs & their kin in every possible way.

Over 200 OYO volunteers across 50+ cities continue to help our current employees & we are further extending COVID support & resources ranging from oxygen concentrators to medical supplies round the clock to OYO Alumni & their families.

We won't stop here. In addition to our existing COVID employee policies, we want to do more, not just for OYOpreneurs but also for our extended OYO family. Now more than ever we need to support those who built OYO into what it is today.

4 OYO case studies were presented at the prestigious Google I/O event in California, showcasing our cutting edge technology solutions!

Dion Almaer, Director Chrome team shared how OYO uses trusted web activities to provide the best customer experience. Addy Osmani, Engineering Manager, Google discussed how OYO is compressing Web API responses to reduce payload. Aakash Sahney, Product Manager, AMP4Email illustrated OYO’s journey of building AMP emails and Peter Mclachlan, Product Manager, Google Chrome further talked about OYO providing a trusted Web experience to guests. We are nothing short of delighted and determined to do better year on year! #OYOFeed

'In a capital-conservative environment, what should one focus on?' A lot of young founders often ask me this. My suggestion to them is pretty straightforward: Shift focus from growth at all costs to growth backed by profitability.

Never lose sight of the smallest unit of your business - your unit economics. It's good to focus on the big picture but never lose sight of small steps along the way!

During my recent trip to Jaipur, I got a chance to interact with a few experienced entrepreneurs who are building the city's identity as an exciting startup hub. It's so good to see how even young founders are thinking about profitability early on in their journey.

When you visit Jaipur, you will feel the pulse of a new entrepreneurial spirit throughout the city. Be it the many co-working spaces all over or cafes transforming into meeting grounds for investors and startups; or people, in general, discussing startup ideas. The city is now fuelling an inspiring start-up scene thanks to a few renowned startups and the growing angel investor community here. Amazing energy all through!

Entrepreneurs'​ Organization #startup #entrepreneurship

Flying in for the FII Summit of FII Institute ,I had the privilege of meeting the Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb of Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia. We discussed Saudi Arabia's rapid emergence as an exciting global tourism destination.

At the summit, I even emphasized the role of technology and digitization in the travel industry's future, with a focus on the significance of AI and ML.

As Saudi Arabia continues its path to becoming a top-tier global travel destination, it aligns perfectly with our vision of supporting the growth of the tourism economy through tech, not only with OYO but also with its subsidiary, Saudi Hospitality Company.

Thank you Ahmed Al Khateeb for your time.

#saudiarabia #technology #travel

In my experience, an entrepreneur is perennially wired to be an optimist despite the odds.

I think even if there is even a 5% chance of an idea working out in the future or creating an impact, entrepreneurs must take the plunge and risk it.

We have launched the OYO Care initiative so that our guests can self-isolate by choosing an OYO next door. Hoping to unburden healthcare workers, patients’ families & contain the spread of the virus by providing safe spaces for quarantine. Stay safe, stay healthy.

Tougher conversations lead to stronger bonds. 
Be it founders, partners, friends or colleagues - everyone has disagreements. The only way to grow in any relationship is to honestly discuss them vs avoiding them.

📸 Raj Shamani

In my early years at OYO, I had the privilege of donning various hats - from managing the front desk to doing housekeeping and overseeing customer service. These experiences taught me a valuable lesson: in the consumer business, it's essential to stay grounded. Instead of having a high-level view from 10,000 feet, I learned that success comes from having an on-ground perspective to meet and exceed our customers' expectations.

Throughout the years, no matter where I travel across the country, my top priority has been to connect with as many of our patrons and customers as possible. There is no bigger satisfaction than knowing that we've helped our patrons improve their revenues and hearing stories about our customers memorable experiences.

The feedback we receive from all of you has been invaluable, and it has shown us the many areas we can improve upon. That's why we are launching the new Spotless Stay program, which involves our officers conducting daily hygiene audits on-site, and working closely with our partner hotels to elevate cleanliness standards. We're starting with over 3000+ audits soon and aiming to scale it to 6000+ by October. Millions of customers place their trust in us every day, and it's our responsibility to live up to that trust in every possible way.

I strongly believe that a brand's success lies in the love it receives from its customers. It's the customers who make a brand, not the other way around. Therefore, I am personally taking charge of this initiative and actively participating in the audits we have planned for the coming months.

So proud of our team for working hard towards this and making our customer experience better every day! A candid from the recent hotel audit we conducted👇🏻

#customerexperience #travel

Our teams are working round the clock to ensure our patrons have maximum support and our customers have a pleasant stay at OYO.

#CheckIn2023

Our very own Rahul Kanwal and the entire India Today Group team have a great initiative called Jab We Met! We spent a day talking in depth about OYO, leaders, life and everything in between. Different from any other interview I have been a part of, thanks to the innovative initiative. Looking forward to catching the complete video feature.

We’ve seen this cycle before—markets shift, technology advances, and businesses that fail to adapt disappear overnight.
The winners of 2025 will not be those who simply work harder.
They will be those who:
- Build systems that scale without them.
- Use AI to multiply efficiency, not just for gimmicks.
- Think long-term while executing fast.
 
The real question is—are you willing to unlearn and rebuild before it’s too late?
 
Full video here: https://lnkd.in/gu86bVrT

I thank our staff & asset owners for their continued commitment. Despite the challenges we came together to provide 100K room nights as part of ‘OYO Care’ initiative in the past four months.
#InThisTogether #OYOCare
https://lnkd.in/dsAeeVv

If you have seen SharkTank India, the real stars of the show are not the sharks but the crew who puts this show together and the contestants. I got a chance to talk to Bimal Unnikrishnan,the man behind the show and how he dons the dual hat of being an entrepreneur and a creative leader. 
 
Fun fact: Bimal and his crew review thousands of pitches for the show and he could probably be an amazing shark himself. Not only this but he also was the creative lead for Kaun Banega Crorepati. 
 
We dove deep into what goes behind the scenes and how the show is put together every year despite not having a permanent crew. Yes, it's all freelancers.  Shark Tank India

Catch my full conversation him on my Youtube channel. Link is in the comments.

Every business idea starts with a simple question: Why?
The best founders don’t wait for ideas—they spot them everywhere.

I believe the industry will have to reset & rethink of ways to deliver safe, quality hospitality to tomorrow's travellers. Here's what I'm expecting & look forward to for the future.