Ritesh Agarwal Success Story: One cannot dispute the fact that Oyo Hotels, a chain infamous for many things, including all the controversies, has unquestionably rocked the hospitality business in India. Ritesh Agrawal, the founder of Oyo Hotels, was only second behind Kylie Jenner on the list of the world's youngest self-made billionaires in 2020; therefore, the success of the company predates Agrawal. At the age of 24, Ritesh Agarwal launched Oyo Hotels. With a net worth of $2 billion (Rs 16,462 crore), Agarwal's rise from a lowly beginning to the top of the hotel sector is a monument to his persistent resolve and entrepreneurial drive.


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Ritesh Agarwal is the richest self-made Indian under 40. Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, the co-founders of Zerodha, are two of India's newest self-made billionaires and are both in their 30s. Byjus' Raveendran family (11,523 Crore) and the Bansals, who co-founded Flipkart (8,231 Crore), come in second and third, respectively. Oyo Hotels, the largest hotel network in India, a 2013 company supported by SoftBank, is now valued at 82,307 Crore. Oyo, which recently surpassed the second-largest chain in China, has ambitious plans to surpass all other hotel chains worldwide by 2023.


Ritesh Agarwal: A College Dropout


At the age of just 13, he started his commercial career by selling SIM cards. After graduating from St. John's Senior Secondary School in Kota, Rajasthan, Agarwal relocated to Delhi to continue his education. Ritesh Agarwal, who is from a small town in the Rayagarh area of Odisha, has a rather unconventional path to success. Ritesh had other ideas than what his father, Ramesh Agarwal, had envisioned for his son's future as an engineer. Ritesh moved to Delhi in the 10th grade to study for the IIT-JEE entrance exam in order to pursue his aspirations. However, Ritesh chose to opt out of engineering college and start his own business despite being enrolled there.



Stepping Stone To Success


Agarwal decided to leave college and pursue his dream, nonetheless, because of his entrepreneurial zeal. He was chosen for the esteemed Thiel Fellowship, an initiative launched by Peter Thiel, in 2013, when he was 19 years old. In order to implement his ideas, the fellowship gave Agarwal a grant of $100,000. He capitalized on this chance by launching Oravel Stays in September 2012, a website that specialized in low-cost lodging. This was the first step in his mission to upend the hospitality sector.


Birth Of OYO Rooms


OYO Rooms was founded in May 2013 thanks to the success of Oravel Stays. This ground-breaking hotel chain, which provides standard, inexpensive lodging all over India, soon acquired popularity. By September 2018, the company had raised Rs 8,000 crore because of Agarwal's commitment and creative initiatives. OYO Rooms became India's largest hotel network thanks to the visionary entrepreneur's leadership, which allowed the company to have a presence in 154 locations.


Footsteps Outside India


OYO Rooms' success story went beyond the boundaries of India. Agarwal reached a landmark in 2016 when the hotel chain reached the milestone of 10 lakh check-ins and expanded its operations to Malaysia. The company's footprint in South Asia was further cemented the following year with the opening of an office in Nepal. The company launched operations in the UK, UAE, Dubai, China, Singapore, and Indonesia in 2018, elevating it to unicorn status. By 2019, OYO Rooms has more than 330,000 rooms in 500 locations worldwide, demonstrating Agarwal's extraordinary capacity for leadership and empire growth.


The founder and CEO of Oyo, Ritesh Agarwal, has been instrumental in the growth of the business. Oyo, one of the largest hotel networks in the world, has expanded globally and disrupted the hospitality sector under his direction. Oyo's growth and positioning as a significant player in the travel and hospitality industries have been fueled by Agarwal's strategic vision and unrelenting pursuit of excellence.