Following their hearts

Swati Bhargava Co-founder, Cashkaro, Gurgaon www.cashkaro.comThe journey My husband Rohan and I discovered some cashback sites when we were both working in the UK. We found the concept interesting and started Pouring Pounds, our UK-based cashback venture in 2011. Its success encouraged us to launch a cashback site in India and we launched CashKaro in 2013. It saw immense growth in a short span of time and reinforced our belief that Indians love to save money and would take an instant liking to cashback as a concept.Interesting anecdote It has to be when we met Ratan Tata over a meal and discussed how CashKaro works. When we explained how we drive sales to retailers and pay users cashback while retaining a small commission as profit he said, You’re giving people free money in a country that loves to save. What’s not to love?. He went on to invest in Cash-Karo and his confidence strengthened our resolve.Early struggles We were leading the performance marketing industry which meant we had to carve our own path. We had to start from scratch and lay down the processes both internally and at the retailers’ end. There was no one to follow and we were setting precedents at every step. It was an uphill task but we enjoyed the process because the experience was rewarding. There were other challenges we had to face such as product development, building the right team and helping investors see value in what we were building.Road to success It takes a lot of courage, persistence and the ability to look beyond problems at hand to be an entrepreneur. No matter how trying a situation may be, the ability to not lose sight of the larger objective and stay true to your vision is crucial.Mentoring and support system Both our families, Rohan’s and mine, have been very supportive. The fact that we come to work each day and put our best foot forward is because we have two very loving and unconditionally supportive families standing behind us as our anchors. We have also been fortunate enough to find bosses and colleagues who have guided us through our career and entrepreneurial roller coaster ride, and helped us to chase our dream.Ritesh Agarwal Founder & CEO, OYO Hotels & Homes, Gurgaon www.oyorooms.comStarting young I always had that fire in my belly to do something different so that I could look back and feel proud about it. It was never about making it big, but about finding something that I believed in and could commit to for years to come. I used to attend start-up events in Delhi and stories of entrepreneurs from around the world fuelled my passion for building something of my own. That’s how my search for small yet powerful business ideas started. I started with Oravel Stays in 2012 that made hotel discovery easy, but I realised that was not sufficient. It’s important to ensure a consistent and controlled end-to-end experience for customers. OYO Hotels & Homes was launched in 2013 to deliver affordable, anytime-available stay experiences for travellersa 100 per cent Made in India business model. Ritesh Agarwal Learning curve I have learnt that just because an idea sounds good, it doesn’t mean it will work. Studying the market to identify the gaps in demand and supply is an excellent place to begin your search for ideas. Once you spot a need gap, you can focus on offering that simple yet powerful solution that has the power to disrupt the space. That’s what worked for me. But, convincing hotel partners to put their property under OYO Hotels & Homes platform was a herculean task. Being a completely new, untested business model, hotel owners were skeptical about the value and prospects we offered. I would often see myself making a commitment to bear the losses if any, and share profits. Looking back, in last over five years, I believe our passion, perseverance and grit helped us.Break all barriers The confidence in your ability to take risks and self belief are the essential things to have if you want to start on your own. The year I launched Oravel Stays, I was nominated for the Thiel Fellowship and received a sum of $100,000 to pursue my start-up dream. Soon, more investors showed faith in me and my promise of continuing to build OYO Hotels & Homes as a force to reckon with. I have been fortunate to get support from all our investors. I also had the support of some of the smartest minds in India, and can say that each OYOpreneur has helped build OYO to what it is today. We have worked towards bringing technological innovation to the forefront of the hospitality industry.Published By: Manpreet KaurPublished On: Jun 14, 2019--- ENDS ---

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Following their hearts

Success is sweet but there is always a lot of hard work involved. Two entrepreneurs tell us about their key challenges.

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