When most of the students were still deciding on majors at 19, Ritesh Agarwal was solving India’s broken budget hotel model.
The small-town boy who now heads OYO Rooms, a hospitality giant with a presence in 80+ countries, and with a valuation at one point exceeding $9 billion, became a billionaire before the age of 30.
A Town Too Small for His Dreams
Ritesh was born in 1993 and raised in Rayagada, a small town in Odisha, where his family had a small retail shop. He started his business life at the age of 13 by selling SIM cards to earn some extra money, where he first experienced entrepreneurship. This experience taught him a lot about the value of sales, customer trust, and persistence.
That little hustle gave him the taste of freedom and inculcated in him a tendency to look for gaps in the market. Years later, when he was traveling economically, he observed something that irritated him: cheap hotels were either unhygienic, filthy, or unwelcoming. The seed for a solution was sown.
Oravel Stays – The First Experiment
In 2011, he moved to Delhi for college, but the classroom couldn’t hold his interest. At 18, he got inspired by the Airbnb home stay model, and decided tp start Oravel Stays. An Airbnb-like listing platform where people can find and book stays within budget, including bed, breakfast, guesthouse, and vacation rentals.
In two years, the project gained significant growth. Ritesh also received the Thiel Fellowship in 2013 and a $100,000 prize from billionaire Peter Thiel to give up college and work full time on his concept.
This decision would change his life completely.
From Oravel to OYO
While building Oravel’s listings, Ritesh himself spent more than 100 nights in budget hotels in India, taking notes of inconsistent services and dirty rooms. It was very clear to him that there is definitely a need for budget-friendly hotels which are clean and provide services.
In May 2013, OYO Rooms was started by him with a few partnered hotels in Gurugram.
OYO Rooms (“On Your Own”) was born with one purpose, which was:
“To standardize budget hotels so travelers can book affordable stays without unpleasant surprises.”
The Numbers Behind the Rise
- 2014: Series A funding
- 2015: Raised $100M Series C led by SoftBank
- 2016–2019: Expanded internationally with Malaysia, Nepal, China, UAE, UK, and the USA
- Today: Has 43,000+ hotels, 1M+ rooms and available in 80+ countries
- App downloads: 100M+ globally
- FY24 profit: ₹229 crore. This was OYO’s first-ever annual profit
These are not just numbers; they are evidence of growth.
Breaking Records: The Youngest Self-Made Billionaire
Ritesh Agarwal became officially one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires by 26.
• Net Worth : ₹36,000 crore
• Raised his shareholding in OYO to 30% by repurchasing shares for $2 billion.
He even joined the panel of Shark Tank India Season 3 in 2024 as the youngest judge, advising other entrepreneurs. His message remains the same:
“You don’t need millions to start — you need the will to keep going.”
Lessons from His Journey
- Start early, start small: Even selling SIM cards can be a lesson in business.
- Learn by doing: Staying in 100 hotels taught him more about it.
- Be prepared to pivot: Oravel’s pivot to OYO was the turning point.
- Scale with tech: From reservation to room service, OYO is data-driven.
Ritesh Agarwal’s story is not of building a billion-dollar company but about noticing what others miss, doing something about it before others do, and being relentless in implementation.
