Three Lessons Entrepreneurs Should Learn From the World’s Second Youngest Self-made Billionaire
Insights from the incredible story of OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal.
Ritesh Agarwal used to sell sim cards at the age of 13, dropped out of college, and at one point, was kicked out of his apartment with only $0.50 in his bank account.
But in 2020, at the age of only 24, he became the world’s second-youngest self-made billionaire with an estimated $1.1 billion. He built one of the largest hotel chains in the world named OYO Rooms.
The idea that made Ritesh a billionaire
Despite being born in a low-income family in Rayagada, India, Ritesh loved two things — technology and travel. So he started coding at the age of 10 and traveled across India during his student life.
While traveling, he noticed that affordable hotels in India lack necessary services like breakfast facilities, comfortable beds, AC, and Wi-Fi. This got Ritesh thinking about how he could solve this problem because he wanted people to feel at home in hotels without spending tons of money.
Despite knowing nothing about entrepreneurship, Ritesh combined his travel experiences and tech knowledge to develop a plan. Then he went to nearby hotels, talked to them about his plan, and convinced them to give it a go.
Next, he added all the hotels that agreed to an online directory where travelers can book budget-friendly hotel rooms with standard facilities.
The idea clicked, and the journey of OYO hotels began that eventually made Ritesh the world’s second-youngest self-made billionaire in 2020 after Kylie Jenner. He was also listed in Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for Asia under the Consumer Tech category.
Now, OYO Rooms is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, with more than 43,000 properties and 1 million rooms across 800 cities in 80 countries.
If you are wondering, OYO is the abbreviated form of On Your Own.
The lessons entrepreneurs should learn from Ritesh Agarwal
Ritesh’s entrepreneurial journey was just like a roller-coaster ride. His success came after an insane amount of hard work. And there were a lot of trials and errors involved.
We can learn some key things from this youngest billionaire and replicate them in our entrepreneurial journey.
I. Get used to rejections.
Rejections are hard to handle, especially when you put your heart and soul into something but get nothing but rejections from clients or investors. Most entrepreneurs find it extremely difficult to handle rejections. Eventually, they lose faith in themselves and give up.
Ritesh encountered a lot of rejections when he started reaching out to different hotel owners and investors. Many thought him crazy and dismissed him instantly.
“Many people told me multiple times, ‘Go to university, seek help from parents to make sure you can do that. This is just not going to work,’” he explains.
Ritesh tells entrepreneurs to get used to rejection because it’s inevitable.
He says, “Trust your instincts, be open to learning and growing, and most importantly, surround yourself with people who bring more to the table either in terms of ideas or insights.”
II. Learn something by doing it.
Ritesh is an excellent example of self-education. Though he didn’t go to university, he learned a lot from real-life experiences. He learned everything by doing it.
“No matter how smart, cool, great you’re — there is no substitute to real experience,” Ritesh emphasizes.
Self-education is far more important than having a university degree. Even Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, said that he doesn’t hire people based on college degrees but on first-hand experience and problem-solving abilities.
Skills matter more than degrees. And skills come from first-hand experiences. So be hungry and learn something by doing it. Get real-life experiences.
III. Build what 100 people will absolutely love.
According to Ritesh, it’s not about finding the right ideas as much as it’s about identifying the right problems and working towards creating solutions. Moreover, he tells you to make products or services that stand out.
In his own words, — “It is extremely important to build something that a 100 people absolutely love using rather than make something that a 1,000 people would just, kind of, like.”
Ritesh inspires us to build premium products that our target group will absolutely love. He tells us to give our 100% to what we offer our clients to solve their problems rather than producing something just okay.
Takeaways
Unfortunately, there is no magical formula to success. It comes after putting a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into your work. But there are a few things that can level you up the game.
So, keep the three invaluable lessons from the world’s second self-made billionaire in mind and work your ass off.
- Get used to rejections and keep learning and growing.
- Learn something by doing it.
- Give your 100% and build something that at least 100 people will absolutely love.
Thank you for reading.
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