← Library
India
Ritesh Agarwal
OYO · Bissam Cuttack, Odisha
Dropped out at 17. Slept in cheap hotels across India to understand the problem before solving it.
Conviction at extreme youthResilienceOperator's grit
Company
OYO
Journey
Moves that mattered.
- 2012Dropped out at 17. Slept in budget hotels to understand the problem.
- 2013Thiel Fellowship. Started OYO from a single hotel in Gurgaon.
- 2018Bought back family stake. World's 3rd-largest hotel chain.
- 2024Rebuilt post-pandemic. Profitable.
Struggles
Pandemic nearly broke OYO — laid off thousands, took personal pay cuts, rebuilt under public scrutiny.
Family
From a small business family in Odisha. Married to Geetansha Sood — kept the wedding small and private.
Related on Empire
Keep reading inside Empire.
Around the web
External references & backlinks.
- ↗wikipedia.orgRitesh Agarwal on Wikipedia
- ↗google.comOYO — official site
- ↗news.google.comRitesh Agarwal in the news
- ↗crunchbase.comOYO on Crunchbase
External links open in a new tab. Empire is not affiliated with these publishers.
The full story
Ritesh Agarwal, in 1 chapters.
- Ch 01
The story
Dropped out at 17. Slept in cheap hotels across India to understand the problem before solving it.
People also search for
- ritesh agarwal founder story
- ritesh agarwal biography
- oyo founder
- oyo case study
- indian startup founders
- startup founder lessons
Your turn