ABP Thoughts of India: “Young India is changing, Young India is dreaming of better, bigger things.”
OYO CEO and Founder Ritesh Agarwal had an in-depth discussion on the second day of ABP Network’s Ideas of India Summit during a session chaired by author Chetan Bhagat as he talks about the changing landscape of India’s consumer needs.
The session was titled ‘Small Town, Big Dreams: Why Entrepreneurship Matters’.
Talking about the impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism, Agarwal mentioned how his data for the last few weeks shows that his services are being used mostly in temple states, which is another assumption. is opposite to. He recalled how hard it was to find accommodation in these places when he moved there as a child with his parents.
The idea that came to his mind was to be able to provide affordable, accessible hotels to everyone. The rationale behind this, he said, was to make it a non-judicial process.
“We are part of the solution,” he said, talking about real-time problems, like some people being denied rooms based on profiling.
Sessions President Bhagat explained how difficult it is for a man and a woman, who are not married to each other, to find a room in many hotels, whether they are forehead and son or brother and sister.
Agarwal said he firmly believes that all new digital companies are now breaking down barriers and most entrepreneurs do so because of the recognition of problems that need solutions.
Recalling his journey from a 19-year-old dropout from Rayagada in Odisha to winning the coveted 100 Million Thiel Fellowship, Agarwal mentioned how he wanted to give it a try for himself and not live with the regret of not having it. tried.
Elaborating on the lessons he learned as a part of the process, he revealed that his key lessons were to think big without any constraints, to be naive enough, but not to end with it, and to value talent. Which made them feel that if you can dream it, you can do it.
‘As entrepreneurs, we are designed to be eternal optimists’
Travel and tourism came to a halt in 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic. Asked how his company survived the onslaught of a pandemic amid already turbulent times within the company, Agarwal said a business is made up of highs and lows. The pandemic came at a time when they were already facing some development challenges. What helped keep it going was optimism, he said.
Thoughts of India | Oyo CEO Ritesh Aggarwal is an entrepreneur and on the challenges faced by Kovid-19@chetan_bhagat @riteshagar @panavi @oyorooms
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“As entrepreneurs, we are designed to be eternal optimists”, he said.
Agarwal said he founded four things that helped him see things through: innovation, care, cost and competency.
While COVID was challenging, Agarwal said, OYO will now be the biggest beneficiary of travel as things are slowly returning to normal. What is needed to understand the needs of a dynamic consumer and instill that recall value for a loyal customer base that is now being used as OYO Rooms to Community Centers and Festivals to a single one during the COVID-19 pandemic? To rent for days.
‘Reduce noise from signals’
Asked what lessons he has learned, Agarwal said that learning from bad times helps keep you hopeful for better times and there should be active encouragement to people to see a bigger picture to dream big . To deal with the criticism, Agarwal advised the youth to reduce the noise and focus on the signals so that they can improvise.
For companies like his, he believed that they had succeeded in driving change in Indian consumer behavior and use case.
“One must try at least, one can fail in anything, there is risk everywhere. Young India is changing, Young India is dreaming of better, bigger things and not only the best in Odisha The thing is rather India chasing the best of the best. The world. They have the resources, they have the means, only they have to give them a light push,” Agarwal said.
Ending the discussion on a lighter note, when Chetan Bhagat was asked what kind of values he looks for in a potential partner, both personally and professionally, a shy Agarwal replied that the qualities that matter That is, both the partners challenge each other. Be the better version of yourself, that there is alignment and appreciation for what is to be expected and end it with a beautiful note saying what matters
The ability to dream – to see the stars and know that there is still much that can be done.
look | ABP Thoughts of India – Live