'Massive role of the Patel community from Gujarat': Oyo's Ritesh Agarwal gives a big shoutout to America's Gujaratis

Travel tech company OYO’s founder Ritesh Agarwal hailed the entrepreneurial spirit of the Gujarati community recently. In a Twitter post, he wrote, “While we often talk about the contribution of Indian Americans to the tech industry, we often miss talking about the massive role of the Patel community from Gujarat in developing the tourism and hospitality sector.”
 
He is referring to his recent trip to Philadelphia where he encountered a couple of Gujarati entrepreneurs who have been successfully running motels and other businesses. The entrepreneur and investor shared how fascinated he has by their stories of growth and perseverance.
 
“On my trip to Philadelphia, I had the incredible opportunity to meet some of our patrons here - Amit Patel, Anilbhai Patel, Peter Bhaidaswala and Raj Bhalla during the week of ‘#GujaratSthapanaDivas’. I learned so much more about their stories of growth, perseverance, and success over the years. The motel industry here not only provides jobs to millions every year but the tight-knit communities formed around the same have revitalised the economic prospects of their cities.”

He also announced that he will be sharing some of the stories in the coming days. 
 
IPO-bound OYO is currently gearing for its stock market debut. Business Today had reported earlier that in an internal townhall held recently, Agarwal announced that the company has turned cash flow positive for the first time in the fourth quarter of FY23. The decacorn ended the quarter with a surplus cash flow of Rs 90 crore, the founder reportedly told OYO's employees.  Additionally, the company which has been planning to go public since 2021 is aiming to get listed during the Diwali season this year.

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