Trailblazing India’s Travel Tech: Rajesh Magow on Building MakeMyTrip

Yeah, sure. It's a pretty interesting story. If you look back, Brashant, it's like 23 years old. MakeMyTrip is now an adult, as we say just recently completed 23 years. It all started by a gentleman called Deep Kalra way back in April 2000—April Fools' Day, ironically. He wanted to do something entrepreneurial. Out of many ideas, two were floating: online travel and online broking. He was passionate about travel, so that's how it started. We didn't know each other; we met at the company. I was looking for something from scratch, and we clicked in the first meeting. I had always wanted to build something from scratch instead of a conventional career. Before MakeMyTrip, I was with another startup—a tech startup trying to stream a master's degree from the University of Illinois. But bandwidth was limited, so we couldn't scale. It was a good dry run. Then I met Deep, loved the idea and the man, and that's how we got together.

No, I think it's a great question. CA or any qualification sets a good foundation, but you discover yourself. I forgot almost everything I studied. The shift from finance to business happened very fast. In my first job, I used to finish my finance role in a couple of hours and then go to the shop floor to learn how switchgears were manufactured. I had a natural inclination toward business. I don't think you need a post-graduate degree to be an entrepreneur. Many college dropouts do extremely well. In our time, conventional wisdom was to complete your studies and get into a profession. Things have changed; now very young people become entrepreneurs. We were all working professionals with seven or eight years of experience, which maybe gave us a shorter learning curve.

Absolutely, a ton of learning, and the curve continues because it's a dynamic space. First, it's a hard choice. It's not a fashion statement; don't start a startup just because your friends did. You have to weigh pros and cons. There are thousands of career options today. Barring Covid, there was never a moment I felt like giving up. The first five years were tough—early stage is hardest but also fun. There's never a dull moment at MakeMyTrip. Macro crises like Covid were huge: 3,000 employees, revenue dropping 95%. But we had a culture of cash reserves and transparency. We had enough money, so it wasn't existential. We acted with all hands on deck, and the team came together because of the culture we built. We even took zero salary, and others volunteered. We used that time to build new platforms, which led to massive innovation. The down cycle presents opportunities. India's travel industry lost three years but is now booming. People are prioritizing experiences because life is short. Our expansion includes corporate and B2B services and international moves like the GCC market with MakeMyTrip UAE, launched during the pandemic. We also took RedBus to Latin America and Southeast Asia. But our plate is full with India opportunities.

We should be ambitious. India is still our core market, and there's plenty of juice left. 90–95% of travel is offline in India. We have platforms for corporate travel and travel agents. We also have MyPartNow for agents. We don't want to make them insecure; we expose our content to them. The customer belongs to them. Government and industry digitization have helped. Next innovation: personalized experiences using data and generative AI. We have a soft launch with Microsoft. Vernacular language and dialects are challenging, but we see promise. The immediate horizon is growing India and the Middle East. Also, offbeat destinations and home stays are emerging. Infrastructure push by the government will help. For leisure, destinations like villas and homestays will change the experience. The next level of digitization is destination experience.

Not at all. India is a large country, there will always be small travel agents. We've built MyBiz for corporate travel and MyPartNow for agents. We expose our content to them; they are partners. We set clear rules from the beginning so they don't feel insecure. We previously carried tickets; now everything is online. Government and the aviation sector played a role. For sustainability, we have the MakeMyTrip Foundation focusing on green initiatives. Customers can contribute 5–20 rupees per product, and we match contributions. Over a million and a half trees planted. We also do cleanliness drives at leisure destinations.

Great question. Sustainability is an area where globally we need to invest more. We are doing humble beginnings with our foundation, tree plantations, and customer contributions. For innovation, data is key. We use it to personalize experiences. Generative AI shows promise; we have a soft launch with Microsoft. It will help with vernacular languages and make booking more conversational. In the next few years, your experience will become more personalized and seamless. Also, moving from hotels to villas and homestays will give you a flavor of new destinations. Offbeat locations will become more accessible as infrastructure improves. The World Cup helps momentum but doesn't move the whole quarter. Offbeat locations and home stays are a big trend.

Your experience might change. One trend is moving from hotels to villas and homestays. India is leading the travel recovery. Many hidden gems are emerging due to infrastructure push. More connectivity and highways will allow you to experiment with offbeat locations. There you'll find luxury villas and home stays. People are investing in second homes as alternative earnings. The next level of digitization will improve destination experience.

No, I'm not selling it. I was downplaying it because it's just a few matches and doesn't move the needle for the whole quarter. But it helps momentum. Sports always push tourism. Offbeat locations are more important long-term.

Maldives is my favorite, with family, absolutely.