OYO Hotels and Homes, popularly known as OYO Rooms and stylised as OYO, is one of the biggest hospitality chains of franchised and leased hotels, living spaces and homes across India. It was back in 2012 when a 20-year-old entrepreneur named Ritesh Agarwal founded this budget hotel platform, which is now operating in 800 cities across India, China, Malaysia, the US, UAE, and many more. According to a report in DNA, Ritesh Agarwal's OYO is currently valued at around the mammoth sum of Rs. 80,000 crores.
On January 22, 2024, the third season of India's first business reality show, Shark Tank India, premiered, and OYO's founder, Ritesh Agarwal was one of the judges on the show. The billionaire instantly made audiences fall in love with him. The entrepreneur received plaudits for his well-mannered and analytical reviews of the pitchers on the show. Not only this, 30-year-old Ritesh also became the youngest entrepreneur to feature in the show, Shark Tank India, which speaks volumes about his entrepreneurial journey.
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OYO's founder, Ritesh Agarwal was born on November 16, 1993, in a Marwari family in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha. The entrepreneur spent most of his growing years in Titilagarh, while his family used to run a shop in Rayagada. Ritesh completed his schooling at Sacred Heart School and later took admission to St. Johns Senior Secondary School. After completing his schooling in Odisha, Ritesh decided to move to Delhi for his graduation and enrolled in the University of London's International Program at the prestigious Indian School of Business and Finance.
When Ritesh Agarwal was studying at the Indian School of Business and Finance, he realised that if he really wanted to become an entrepreneur, he should start having real-life experiences. Hence, he started attending business events and conferences, where he got the chance to learn directly from the entrepreneurs. At the mere age of 18, Ritesh made the biggest decision of his life to drop out of college to start his business venture by the name Oravel Travel in 2011.
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After dropping out of college, Ritesh Agarwal put his soul into his company, Oravel Travel, but the revenue model was not finding its feet in the Indian market. However, he submitted his business idea to the Thiel Fellowship, which offered a two-year program for young college dropouts and gave them a chance to start their own business venture by providing them with Rs. 80 lakhs. Due to his unique business model, Oravel Travel, Ritesh became the first Asian to get the Thiel Fellowship, and it was in 2013 that Ritesh launched OYO Rooms.
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At the age of 22 in 2015, Ritesh Agarwal has already become a millionaire, courtesy of the exponential start of his business venture, OYO Rooms. The Indian hospitality industry was stunned by OYO's growth as within the first six years of its launch, Ritesh Agarwal's company had over 17,000 employees who were managing full-fledged hotel chains in India and overseas in 2019.
According to Hurun Rich List 2020, Ritesh's net worth was approximately USD 1.1 billion, which, upon conversion to Indian currency, was around Rs. 7253 crores. After funding from giant investors like SoftBank Group and Lightspeed Venture Partners, OYO signed a multi-year strategic deal with Microsoft in 2021. According to a report in The Times Of India, Ritesh Agarwal's net worth is estimated to be around the whooping sum of Rs. 15,000 crore in 2023. As per DNA, Ritesh's company, OYO is currently valued at Rs. 80,000 crores.
Ritesh Agarwal's success story is quite popular across India. However, hardly any people out there know about the person, who stood alongside him right from the beginning. We are talking about Ritesh's college girlfriend, now wife, Geetansha Sood. For the unversed, Ritesh and Geetansha met for the first time back in 2012, when he was trying his best to keep his dream of becoming an entrepreneur alive.
After several frequent meetings, Ritesh Agarwal and Geetansha Sood were convinced they were made for each other. From helping Ritesh in his entrepreneurial journey to always standing by his side even when he had just 30 rupees in his bank account, Geetansha never let him doubt his abilities and vision. Despite dating each other for almost 11 years, Ritesh and Geetansha got married in an intimate wedding ceremony on March 7, 2023.
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Months after their wedding, Ritesh Agarwal announced his wife, Geetansha Sood's pregnancy on October 13, 2023. OYO's founder posted an adorable picture of him posing alongside his wife, Geetansha, who was flaunting her cute baby bump. It was a special moment for the couple, and to make it more special, Ritesh penned a long note in which he praised his wife for all the sacrifices she had made over the years. The doting husband referred to his wife as 'Geet' and shared his excitement about taking another step in their journey from lovers to partners and now parents. An excerpt from his note could be read as:
"I met Geet eleven years ago, when I was just a teenager chasing dreams, trying to convince my family that I wanted to build my company from scratch. There was only one constant who was by my side through it all, and it was her. The highs of happiness and milestones, the lows of pain and loss, we've been through so much together. Now, as Geet and I reflect on (and process) our transition from being children to teenagers to partners, to parents, I couldn't be more excited."
What are your thoughts on how Geetansha Sood stood with her husband, Ritesh Agarwal? Isn't it a perfect filmy love story? Let us know.
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