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Ritesh Agarwal

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This article is about an Indian entrepreneur. For bio-medical enginner/scientist, see Ritesh Agarwal (scientist).

Ritesh Agarwal
Agarwal in 2019
Born (1993-11-16) 16 November 1993 (age 31)
Bissam Cuttack, Orissa (present day Odisha), India
Occupations
  • Businessperson
  • entrepreneur
  • investor
Years active2012–present
OrganizationOYO Rooms
TelevisionShark Tank India (2024–)
Spouse
Geetansha Sood
​
(m. 2023)​
AwardsThiel Fellowship, Business World Young Entrepreneur Award[1]

Ritesh Agarwal (born 16 November 1993) is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur[2] and the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms.[3] He has been a panellist on Shark Tank India (season 3) in 2024.[4] Agarwal listed among Top 10 youngest Indian billionaires in Hurun Rich List of India 2024, with $225 million (₹1,900 crore) net worth[5][6]

Personal life

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Ritesh Agarwal was born in a Marwari family[7] in Bissam Cuttack, Orissa, India and was brought up in Titilagarh.[8][9][10][11][12] His family operated a small shop in Rayagada, Odisha. He completed his schooling at Sacred Heart School, and later at St. John's Senior Secondary School, before moving to Delhi in 2011 for college.[13][14]

Agarwal married Geetansha Sood, a native of Lucknow, on 7 March 2023.[15][16]

Career

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In 2011, Agarwal founded an Airbnb equivalent called "Oravel Stays".[17][18] Agarwal's enterprise was accelerated through the Venture Nursery program in 2012, and was later one of the winners of the 2013 Thiel Fellowship, receiving a US$100,000 grant.[19][20] The company launched as OYO Rooms in May 2013.[21][22][3]

By September 2018, the company had raised US$1 billion.[23] In July 2019, it was reported that Agarwal purchased US$2 billion in shares, tripling his stake in the company.[24][25][26]

He appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Asia.[27]

In 2023, Agarwal became the youngest "Shark" to appear on Shark Tank India.[28]

In 2024, Agarwal continued to lead OYO Rooms as it built on its success from the previous year. The company focused on expanding its presence in key international markets, particularly in the Nordic countries, Southeast Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, where it had seen strong growth. Agarwal also made headlines for his prediction that spiritual tourism would become a significant driver of India’s tourism industry over the next five years. His insights were supported by data showing a 70% surge in bookings for holy destinations like Ayodhya on New Year’s Eve, surpassing popular tourist spots such as Goa and Nainital. [29]

In May 2024, OYO reported its first-ever profit after tax (PAT) of ₹229 crore for the financial year 2023-24, according to the company's annual report. This comes on the back of eight consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA, the company stated. OYO's adjusted EBITDA grew by 215% to reach ₹877 crore in FY24, up from ₹277 crore in FY23. [30]

Controversies

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Allegations of cheating by OYO's co-founder

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Agarwal is accused[by whom?] of cheating OYO's co-founder, Manish Sinha, during the early period[when?] of the company.[31] But the company denies all the charges against founder.[32]

Television series

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References

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  1. ^ "Ritesh Agarwal". Forbes. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  2. ^ "From being the richest shark to having a whopping net-worth of approximately Rs 16000 crores: Lesser known facts about Shark Tank India 3's Ritesh Agarwal". The Times of India. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "This is how 24 year-old Ritesh Agarwal built OYO Rooms a $5 billion hotel chain in just five years". The Financial Express. 26 September 2018. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  4. ^ Mukhopadhyay, Sounak (31 January 2024). "Ritesh Agarwal picks Bollywood actors who can be great Sharks". Mint. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  5. ^ Oberoi, Rahul (3 September 2024). "This 30-year-old cyber security expert joins OYO's Ritesh Agarwal in Hurun youngest rich list". Business Today. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  6. ^ Gupta, Cherry (4 September 2024). "Top 10 youngest Indian billionaires in 2024: Zepto founders lead the ranking". The Indian Express. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  7. ^ Chowdhry, Seema; Khurana, Chanpreet (30 November 2013). "Entrepreneurs | The company of teens". Mint. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Here are 6 interesting facts you didn't know about OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  9. ^ "21-Yr-Old Start-Up Entrepreneur Ritesh Agarwal Started By Selling SIM Cards In Rayagada". The Times of India. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  10. ^ "His ₹30 lakh stake in Oyo would have been thousands of crores today but..." livemint. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  11. ^ Chengappa, Sangeetha (25 September 2018). "For OYO's Ritesh Agarwal, there is more room for growth". @businessline. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  12. ^ "OYO raises $1 billion fund: How 24-year-old Ritesh Agarwal turned his idea into India's second most valuable start-up". Firstpost. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  13. ^ Debusmann, Bernd Jr. (15 July 2019). "Too many entrepreneurs give up, says Oyo CEO Ritesh Agarwal". ArabianBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Ritesh Agarwal: Interesting facts about oyo founder ritesh agarwal". Business Insider.
  15. ^ "OYO boss Ritesh Agarwal ties the knot with fiancee Geetansha; Softbank CEO, Paytm boss attend reception". The Economic Times. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Who is OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal's wife, Geetansha Sood? - OYO founder's wife". The Economic Times. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  17. ^ "If you meet a 17- or 18-year-old entrepreneur, just invest in their firm". 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Ritesh Agarwal's Cayman based firm to bring funds to Oyo". The Economic Times. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  19. ^ Menon, Rashmi (19 August 2015). "Meet OYO Rooms' Ritesh Agarwal: The dropout who dined with Peter Thiel". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  20. ^ Bergen, Mark (10 May 2013). "Oravel founder Ritesh Agarwal wins Thiel Fellowship". Livemint. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Ritesh Agarwal's OYO, SoftBank set up investment vehicle, seek CCI approval for increasing stake in Oravel Stays". The Financial Express. 16 July 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  22. ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (21 November 2018). "OYO manages more rooms in China than in India". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  23. ^ Bloomberg, Saritha Rai (26 September 2018). "How 24-year-old Ritesh Agarwal built Oyo into a $5 billion startup in just 5 years". www.livemint.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  24. ^ Chaudhary, Deepti (19 July 2019). "Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal to triple his stake with $2 bn share buyback". Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  25. ^ "India's Oyo valued at $10B after founder purchases $2B in shares". TechCrunch. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  26. ^ "OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal to buy back shares from early investors for USD 2 bn - Times of India". The Times of India. 19 July 2019. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  27. ^ "30 Under 30 2016 Asia: Consumer Tech". Forbes.
  28. ^ "Shark Tank Indian 3: All you need to know about 29-yr-old Ritesh Agarwal; the youngest Shark to join the panel". The Times of India.
  29. ^ "'80% more users are searching for stays in Ayodhya': OYO's Ritesh Agarwal on New Year's Eve booking". Business Today. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  30. ^ Chaturvedi, Anumeha (14 August 2024). "Oyo reports first-ever PAT of Rs 229 crore". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  31. ^ Mishra, Ashish (7 January 2015). "Will the real Ritesh Agarwal please stand up". Mint. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  32. ^ Chaturvedi, Anumeha (7 September 2019). "Oyo denies charges against founder, staff". The Economic Times.
  33. ^ "Shark Tank Indian 3: All you need to know about 29-yr-old Ritesh Agarwal; the youngest Shark to join the panel". The Times of India. 7 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
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