OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal recounts when his belongings were thrown outside Delhi home, had Rs 23 in bank account
OYO founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal recounted his early experiences and challenges that he faced while establishing the multinational hospitality chain. Here’s what he had to say
- Sep 2, 2023,
- Updated Sep 2, 2023 4:49 PM IST
The journey towards success as an entrepreneur is replete with challenges and roadblocks in real life unlike its portrayal in movies. OYO founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal recounted his early experiences and challenges that he faced while establishing the multinational hospitality chain in a sitdown with movie producer and upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala.
Agarwal recalled that the house he stayed in when he came to Delhi for the first time was locked and all his belongings were kept at the staircase. He recounted that the guard had told him that the owner of the house had asked the guard to keep his belongings outside the house since the security got lapsed. Agarwal added that he started wondering where will he go at night and had come to Delhi for business purposes.
"Few days I went out to meet other hotel owners, stay there etc. When I came back, ghar locked tha, saman packed hoke seediyon main rakha hua tha and manager owner ke guard se poocha toh sahab ne bola ki saman bahar rakh doh aapka security lapse ho gaya. Maine bola raat ko kahaan jaaunga main. Main Dilli main naya tha, main sirf iss business ko karne ke liye wahaan tha, (The house was locked and all my belongings were kept on the staircase. I asked the guard who said the owner had told to keep all the belongings outside since the security had got lapsed. I said where I will go at night. I was new in Delhi and had come for business purposes)" Agarwal said.
The OYO founder and CEO also said that he only had Rs 23 in his Union Bank account at the time. He added that his telephone was blocked by the company as he had not paid his bill. "To make matters worse, I had Rs 23 in my Union Bank account. My telephone was blocked by the company because I did not pay my phone bill," he added.
Ritesh Agarwal’s journey at a glance
At the ripe young age of 19, Agarwal decided to drop out of college. The move made him eligible for the prestigious Theil Fellowship, an initiative established by Peter Theil. Agarwal became the first Asian recipient of the fellowship and received a grant of $100,000. Armed with this support, Agarwal returned to India with a vision to launch OYO, his own hospitality venture.
Watch Ritesh Agarwal’s interaction with Ronnie Screwvala here
He shared the video of the sitdown with Screwvala on X formerly Twitter and wrote that every founder’s journey comprises the struggles and losses they’ve dealt with early on. He added that those moments of uncertainty start to seem like “chapters of character building” as time passes by. “If there’s one thing that I can say with certainty now, it's this - If you are laser-focused on your end goal, every obstacle begins to feel like a minor bump on the road,” he wrote on X.
Ritesh Agarwal’s nuggets of wisdom
This, however, is not the first time that Agarwal has shared nuggets of wisdom from his entrepreneurial journey. In April this year, he shared his mother’s invaluable advice with the students of the Indian Institute of Management in Nagpur which has come in handy for him in his journey.
“Jo ped sabse bade hote hain, who sabse zyada jhuke hue hote hai (The more successful you become in life, the more rooted you should be),” he told the graduating students.
Also Read: Boss or cleaning staff? OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal reminisces Rs 20 tip from angry customer
Also Read: WATCH: OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal shares his mother's advice with IIM Nagpur students
The journey towards success as an entrepreneur is replete with challenges and roadblocks in real life unlike its portrayal in movies. OYO founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal recounted his early experiences and challenges that he faced while establishing the multinational hospitality chain in a sitdown with movie producer and upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala.
Agarwal recalled that the house he stayed in when he came to Delhi for the first time was locked and all his belongings were kept at the staircase. He recounted that the guard had told him that the owner of the house had asked the guard to keep his belongings outside the house since the security got lapsed. Agarwal added that he started wondering where will he go at night and had come to Delhi for business purposes.
"Few days I went out to meet other hotel owners, stay there etc. When I came back, ghar locked tha, saman packed hoke seediyon main rakha hua tha and manager owner ke guard se poocha toh sahab ne bola ki saman bahar rakh doh aapka security lapse ho gaya. Maine bola raat ko kahaan jaaunga main. Main Dilli main naya tha, main sirf iss business ko karne ke liye wahaan tha, (The house was locked and all my belongings were kept on the staircase. I asked the guard who said the owner had told to keep all the belongings outside since the security had got lapsed. I said where I will go at night. I was new in Delhi and had come for business purposes)" Agarwal said.
The OYO founder and CEO also said that he only had Rs 23 in his Union Bank account at the time. He added that his telephone was blocked by the company as he had not paid his bill. "To make matters worse, I had Rs 23 in my Union Bank account. My telephone was blocked by the company because I did not pay my phone bill," he added.
Ritesh Agarwal’s journey at a glance
At the ripe young age of 19, Agarwal decided to drop out of college. The move made him eligible for the prestigious Theil Fellowship, an initiative established by Peter Theil. Agarwal became the first Asian recipient of the fellowship and received a grant of $100,000. Armed with this support, Agarwal returned to India with a vision to launch OYO, his own hospitality venture.
Watch Ritesh Agarwal’s interaction with Ronnie Screwvala here
He shared the video of the sitdown with Screwvala on X formerly Twitter and wrote that every founder’s journey comprises the struggles and losses they’ve dealt with early on. He added that those moments of uncertainty start to seem like “chapters of character building” as time passes by. “If there’s one thing that I can say with certainty now, it's this - If you are laser-focused on your end goal, every obstacle begins to feel like a minor bump on the road,” he wrote on X.
Ritesh Agarwal’s nuggets of wisdom
This, however, is not the first time that Agarwal has shared nuggets of wisdom from his entrepreneurial journey. In April this year, he shared his mother’s invaluable advice with the students of the Indian Institute of Management in Nagpur which has come in handy for him in his journey.
“Jo ped sabse bade hote hain, who sabse zyada jhuke hue hote hai (The more successful you become in life, the more rooted you should be),” he told the graduating students.
Also Read: Boss or cleaning staff? OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal reminisces Rs 20 tip from angry customer
Also Read: WATCH: OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal shares his mother's advice with IIM Nagpur students