The last 10 years we've seen a tremendous boom in infrastructure, and that has really helped travel and tourism.
The idea behind the launch of MakeMyTrip that happened in 2000 – what was it? What led to that only because of the internet? And the impact I could feel it in my bones that this is going to change everything forever. What mindset should a budding entrepreneur have?
Not giving up – call it perseverance or call it resilience – is the number one attribute for any entrepreneur. We are doing a wonderful program with Niti Aayog which came as an idea from them, where we are actually teaching a lot of homestay owners – these are ladies typically – on how to convert their current home into a homestay, one room at a time.
You recently said AI is going to do the same. Is it actually scary, to be honest?
It is going to have an impact on jobs. Some jobs will change. People like to just brush it under the carpet and say, 'Oh, that's exactly what happened with computerization.' Sure, but this is far bigger.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to MyGov's latest podcast series GDP: Growth, Dreams, Passion. Early 2000s, as a matter of fact, the only 4G that was trending was Anil Kapoor's 'AAG'. A brief statistic: less than 2% of the Indian population used the internet in 2004–2005. But our guest today created a startup back then which became a multi-billion dollar corporation. The absolute OG entrepreneur is here: Deep Kalra, founder of MakeMyTrip. Deep, welcome to MyGov.
Thank you very much, absolutely our pleasure. So Deep, first question: founder of MakeMyTrip, now non‑executive chairman. How is life now? How are things going on?
Life is great. I chose to step down from day‑to‑day executive work a couple of years ago. I wanted to do it when I turned 50, but COVID happened, and all hands on deck because travel was devastated. Once the worst of COVID was over and travel came back with a bang, I expressed my desire to step back to create more time for passion projects. Also my co‑founder Rajesh was already CEO and doing a great job; I felt it was only fair he gets a free hand. I still spend about a quarter of my time on MakeMyTrip – it's lumpy – and the other days I do other stuff.
Lovely. The reason MyGov started this podcast series is for the youngsters of the country. The series is called GDP: Growth, Dreams, Passion. Do you like the name?
I love it. I think the more exciting GDP – we all know gross domestic product – but I like this definition. I'm going to borrow it sometime. It's a great initiative from MyGov, much needed to spark passion and dreams. The reality is we won't be able to create enough corporate and government jobs for our burgeoning young population; the Prime Minister has said entrepreneurship will play a big part.
We'll take a small trip down memory lane. Early 2000s, many people don't know that MakeMyTrip was launched both in the US and India and then relaunched in India. What led to that?
I worked about eight years after my MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. I had no dreams of being an entrepreneur at first. But the internet – I could feel it in my bones that this would change everything forever. I had two business ideas: online travel and online stock broking. The thesis was simple: dial‑up modems were slow, but anyone who went through the tapaasya of going online could feel it would make a big change. I took the plunge because online travel could disrupt inefficient traditional travel, giving customers choice and suppliers a platform to put forward their inventory. Perishable inventory – a room not booked or a seat not sold is gone forever – and online can match supply and demand.
I read somewhere – how true is it that when MakeMyTrip was starting, you put your own savings and your wife's savings together as capital?
Yes, that was the only capital one had. I didn't come from a business family. My wife was working, so we pulled our savings and said, 'Let's do this.'
It started in 2000, and soon there were multiple world‑changing events: economic downturn, 9/11, the dot‑com bubble burst. How did MakeMyTrip recover?
I call it the triple whammy. 9/11 meant NRIs didn't want to fly. The dot‑com bust hit in 2000 in India, so venture capitalists wanted their money back. Then SARS, the forefather of COVID‑19. We were battered from all directions. The toughest part was that our VCs wanted to shut down the business. The defining moment was buying them out with whatever capital we could get, plus angel support. From 2001 to 2003 we were truly bootstrapping – tiny office in Okhla, people slept in the office. We shrunk from 42 to 24 people. What kept me going: the numbers were moving in the right direction, my colleagues trusted me, and gut instinct.
2003‑2004, what changed? What made you decide to relaunch in India in 2005?
In 2003 we got a small angel investment from a customer. What started changing in 2004 was the advent of low‑cost carriers like Air Deccan and later SpiceJet and Indigo. Customers wanted cheap tickets, but travel agents didn't want to sell them because margins were thin and payment risk. Technology could solve that via direct connects. Also, IRCTC gave Indians confidence to pay online. Both gave us the confidence to relaunch in India in 2005. The next five years were frenetic growth – we grew 25x from 2005 to 2010 and listed on NASDAQ in 2010.
In 2005 only about 2% of India used the internet. That was your target audience. What were the first 12 months like and the next four years?
Even 2% of a billion people is a sizable number, several million with disposable income. Connectivity improved, payment options grew. We rode the wave of high growth – India growing, consuming power growing, internet growing. It was a perfect storm that helped us grow at that pace.
Many young Indians want to start their own business. What should they study? Where? What can help them get an idea?
Basic business skills are important – commerce, economics. If you want tech, engineering or sciences help. But the key is problem‑solving ability. A problem‑solving mind doesn't get freaked out; it stays structured. The second critical skill is people management – getting work from people who don't report to you, attracting, retaining and motivating talent. That fills the voids of skills you don't have. And listen to your customer; they tell you their pain points.
