E-Conclave Brainstorm: PayTM, Oyo and BYJU chiefs shared tips how start-ups to survive the pandemic

Ritesh Aggarwal, the founder and CEO of Oyo Hotels and Homes on Wednesday said that his company was in a good place even as industry experts wrote its obituaries due to the heavy losses incurred during the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking on if the Covid-19 pandemic will burst the start-up bubble or if the companies will sail through the hard times, Oyo chief  joined at the India Today e-Conclave Brainstorm: Surviving the pandemic on Wednesday and shared his thoughts on the lockdown and the path forward.

In an exclusive conversation as part of the E-Conclave Brainstorm Series, Ritesh said while his decision to borrow $ 450 million to raise his own stake in the company may not have been the best financial decision he has made, “but I do feel that it was the decision I feel good about as an entrepreneur because I am backing my company and the team members I work with for the long-term success.”

The Oyo chief said that his company is trying to focus on changing industry trends to beat the losses incurred during the coronavirus outbreak. “The coronavirus has impacted 1-2 quarters of our growth trajectory. We are now focusing on new kinds of travel, weekend travel which requires driving rather than flying,” he said.

“Coorg will be the new Switzerland, Goa will be the new Thailand. If we predict these trends correctly, while market size may shrink, we will have a good opportunity to use our model,”he added.

Apart from Ritesh Agarwal, the other two most-valued start-up poster boys and also the youngest self-made billionaires PayTM founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and BYJU’s founder Byju Raveendran have shared their thoughts and experiences on surviving the pandemic.

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