Just keep revolving with the evolution of the world. Every day is a new learning for an individual, and at no stage should one get into a situation or phase that you arrived and you know at all. What has been your most memorable day, my tip?
Oh my God. It can't be one along the 25-year journey. But I think the recent one. Which is one metric you are tracking on a daily basis? And why? I think if you divide the metrics, anyone who wants to see it from a holistic perspective has to be business, customers, and people. Business includes partners so that you don't feel left out.
No, not at all. What part of your role do you find great, and one part which you should not like as much?
There will always be something in that role you may not enjoy, but that will be super critical for the overall success. First you have to learn — 10 billion, the company touched very recently. How do you think you will reach 100 billion in India? The markets and businesses will grow; of course you have to have your strategy right, execution right. But how has your adoption with Myra? With Myra, the interface is going to be very interactive, could be vernacular. What you need to do is make sure two things: one, you play this game very proactively and invest behind it; two, make sure you are not left behind. And to meeting that, it influences your life.
Man, what's? Except. What do you think is the biggest head for me?
We have the CEO and co-founder of MakeMyTrip, the man who helped them with the 3-billion-dollar recent fund raise, the man who shapes the way India travels: Rajesh Magow. Thank you, sir, for being here. So sir, I want to take you back to your childhood and where you sort of came from and how you reached here.
Childhood was fairly regular. I grew up in a small town near Amritsar; my parents were both professors. We moved to Delhi in the late 80s. I was clear I wanted to do something with business, so I chose commerce. I did my CA, then got a job at Voltas, a Tata company. I was posted to a plant in Thane — fantastic learning. After about two years, I moved to Aptech in Delhi, where I switched from finance to a business role. Then I joined a startup called Quantum, which was a dry run before MakeMyTrip. The leap of faith was less about MakeMyTrip and more about Deep and the Internet. Meeting Deep Kalra — his vision, clarity, humility, transparency — that convinced me. I wanted to build something from scratch.
Any sort of value which your parents inculcated that you have brought into your leadership style and into a value that MakeMyTrip as a company follows?
Plenty. The early stage ones have the greatest influence. The biggest one was discipline. Both my parents are very disciplined, organized, and principled. Values like honesty, transparency, commitment came from that. They led their lives with huge commitment and passion. That naturally helps you become a better, more organized person. Also compassion.
Lovely, sir. So from there, when you came to Delhi, you went to Voltas, then Aptech, then that's correct?
Yes, it was a natural progression. I did graduation, post-grad, CA. I got an interview at Voltas, a Tata company. I was offered a job in financial planning, but was posted to a plant in Thane. I had a lot of free time, so I learned other areas. After about a year, I moved to Delhi and Aptech, which was a great opportunity — IT education. I switched from finance to a business role after five years. Then Quantum, a startup trying to deliver a University of Illinois computer science degree over the internet. That gave me a flavor of internet startups. Then MakeMyTrip happened.
So why did you choose to join MakeMyTrip? What about Deep sort of attracted you?
I think the leap of faith there was less MakeMyTrip — because MakeMyTrip was just born at that time — and more Deep and the Internet. It was a combination that pushed me. The Internet was a great opportunity. I had seen that flavor at Quantum. And when I met Deep, his vision, clarity, humility, transparency… it just clicked. I also wanted to be associated with something built from scratch rather than working for a corporate. Aptech gave me that entrepreneurial taste, and I wanted more.
Lovely, sir. There was a point in time when you actually worked outside of MakeMyTrip to keep MakeMyTrip alive. So can you take us through that journey?
I can't claim credit for keeping it alive, but here's how it happened. The 2000 to 2005 journey was really tough, near death situations. The market wasn't ready, Internet ecosystem didn't exist, 9/11, SARS, etc. Initial funding commitments fell through. Then an opportunity came: e-Bookers, a UK-based online travel agency, was looking to set up operations in India. Deep and I took on dual roles — managing MakeMyTrip and setting up e-Bookers' Indian operations. That deal brought in cash and a stock deal that was liquid. It gave us the lifeline we needed. I stayed back there for a while while Deep returned to MakeMyTrip. The learning was immense because we moved all processes to India and scaled from 10 to a few thousand people. By late 2005, we raised a proper round from SAIF Partners, and I came back to MakeMyTrip as CFO and also handling operations.
What necessitated the merger between goibibo and MakeMyTrip? How did it turn out so well? Everyone was speculating you'd kill the goibibo brand and it would be too large.
It turned out beautifully, but a lot of effort went in. This happened during a disruptive phase when internet penetration was improving and investors were aggressive. We had gone public in 2010, and the hotel business was capital-intensive. goibibo, backed by NBS, was disrupting the market with deep discounts. We realized we had a choice: play the same game or make a bold move to acquire. After a couple of quarters, better sense prevailed. We decided to acquire, and we were very clear there was no going back. We invested heavily in integration — back-end, tech, supply integration, brand strategy. We kept redBus independent. For goibibo, we made sure the transition was seamless. Today, goibibo still has its own set of customers, the brand is intact, and it contributes positively. It was a bold step but it worked.
Whose idea was it? Was it Ashish, you, or someone else?
I think it was a combination. Ashish on the other side with his investors, and Deep and I with our management team. We were thinking about it and felt this was the more interesting way to deal with the situation. I don't think one person can take credit. Ashish also saw the writing on the wall. Eventually, from our point of view, it made sense to consolidate rather than continue burning money.
Do you think having a challenger brand like even today and running it as a separate brand helps you be a larger company? You have MakeMyTrip and goibibo, you have Booking.com, and large conglomerates behind them.
Yes, having multiple brands allows us to cater to different customer segments. goibibo attracts value seekers and younger people, while MakeMyTrip has its own loyal following. We keep them distinct with separate positioning. It gives us market coverage and helps in competitive dynamics. The strategy has been working well so far.
Companies as well, but none of them have even been able to come close to MakeMyTrip in the Indian context. I think that's definitely one of the things that would have held them back, but there are many other factors that help. I would give a lot of credit to the local knowledge, local strategy, and local execution, to be honest. And of course the three brands, because you are able to spread your wings to ensure continuous customer acquisition through different channels. A lot of it has to do with a global playbook versus a local or regional playbook. It starts with strategy and ends with execution on the ground; everything in between falls into place. The global playbook of players like Booking.com or Expedia is very different by design, because they operate across multiple countries. My marketing playbook, supply acquisition, and customer acquisition strategy would be very different compared to a local regional player like MakeMyTrip in India, Traveloka in Indonesia, or Despegar in Latin America. These local players have deep country-specific knowledge, consumer insights, and a strong on-the-ground presence for highly fragmented supply. Even Amazon India, a global brand with a local strategy, is the closest example; others follow a very global approach where decisions often go back to headquarters. That fundamental difference makes B2C businesses in fragmented supply hard to do remotely. I think a lot of the credit goes to that, along with relentless improvement in customer experience, product innovation, a solid partner strategy on the supply side, and ensuring the marketplace model works for long-term sustainability.
If you talk about the IPO slightly earlier, from the IPO in 2010 to the recent $3 billion fundraise, how was it different for you? Because I think in the recent fundraise, which has been probably the largest in this country over the past five years, you were at the driving seat? You were co-pilot? So how has it sort of... how was it different for you, and can you tell us a little bit about it?
Interestingly, I don't think I ever saw it from that angle, but I will tell you the difference. It's not necessarily the co-pilot and driving seat angle, because frankly it was Deep and I doing it together, with Deep equally involved behind the scenes and Mohit handling the heavy lifting on fundraising. The real difference is the scale, size, market opportunity, and evolution of the internet. In 2010, we had only the flights business with $40 million revenue, looking at $60 million; now we were talking about a billion-dollar revenue run rate. The early-stage internet market questions didn't really exist anymore. The entire investor ecosystem is hugely developed. That said, we were pleasantly overwhelmed by the demand and love for the brand. It became the highest transaction in the Indian internet industry in terms of share size, and we completed it in less than 36 hours. The conversion rate for investors was in the 90s, almost 100% eventually. So those were the differences — validation of our business, market opportunity, trust, and confidence in the brand and management team, aided by post-COVID recovery and good market timing. It was also a stark contrast to the 10-day roadshow we did for the tiny $80 million IPO in 2010. I was happy to see investor confidence in the story.
One COVID learning you think has stayed with you?
Yeah, 100%. Resilience. We had seen many cycles before, but this was huge. Revenue dropped 95% in the first quarter, and we were no longer a tiny startup. It was a crazy drop, like a Black Swan event, and it was prolonged. Thankfully, we had money on the balance sheet and raised more to stay safe. The effort to rebuild slowly was enormous. The resilience came from the team — not just the leadership, but people who volunteered for salary cuts and sacrifices. It was overwhelming to see the affiliation and ownership people felt toward the brand. They hung in there during difficult times. We later surprised them with ex gratia payments when the business recovered. That gesture went a long way. It validated the culture we had built.
Coming to that, because of the longevity in leadership, which is unlike any of your peers, what happens is you have people changing in two or three years, they make them global this and that, and it doesn't work. Here, there is immense longevity and transition from one role to another. That is amazing about this company — the fact that two non-tech people have built probably the largest tech company in India in travel space. So what are the two or three things you are looking for, and can you tell us a little bit more about your ESP plan, because so many people have made so much wealth through that?
That's an interesting question. We have been very lucky with the tenure of our leadership team and even the top 100 people. I think two or three things stand out. First, the general environment — empowering people to take full ownership with an entrepreneurial mindset. People enjoy that collaborative, supportive culture. Second, growth — not just financial, but personal growth in roles and responsibilities. Because we were a growing company, we could provide opportunities for people to switch from business development to marketing to product. Third, the ESOP philosophy of sharing wealth. Deep set the tone from the top, always solving for 'what's in it for me?' Once you solve for these, retention comes naturally. It's not superficial; genuine effort yields long-term loyalty. MakeMyTrip has been a standout in people management, though there are other good examples in the industry.
Sir, from a product point of view, what do you think the product doesn't currently have, and how has your adoption with Myra been over the past few months?
