Inspiring story of Deep Kalra, the founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip -
Success story of Deep Kalra, the founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip -
Deep Kalra was born in Hyderabad and spent his childhood in Ahmedabad and Delhi. Deep Kalra is an entrepreneur and Indian businessman who is the founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip, the largest Indian online travel company that offers online travel services such as hotel reservations, air tickets, domestic and international vacation packages, cab booking, train booking, and bus tickets, among other things.
Formal education and Career -
Deep Kalra earned his bachelor's degree from St. Stephen's College in Delhi and his master's degree (MBA) in 1992 from IIM Ahmedabad - Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
His career began shortly after completing his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from IIM Ahmedabad, and he moved on to work for firms such as ABN AMRO Bank, GE Capital, and others! Deep's career at GE Money was taking off. Deep chose to become an entrepreneur after three years in the bank.
Deep is a founder member of the non-profit organisation I am Gurgaon. He is also a member of Ashoka University's governing committee. Karla ranked first on KPMG's list of India's most influential digital influencers in 2011.
Deep Kalra took a big risk by leaving a well-paying and secure career at ABN Bank. He introduced AMF Bowling, an American firm looking to join the Indian market and kickstart the country's 10-pin bowling craze. However, the enterprise did not succeed, and he returned to his monotonous and routine private work. He believes that failure in his situation helped him much in spurring him on.
Origin of MakeMyTrip -
As a result, with the support of eVentures and co-founders such as Rajesh Magow, Keyur Joshi, and Sachin Bhatia, Deep launched his new entrepreneurial career with an online travel firm, MakeMyTrip, after discovering the internet's potential.
MakeMyTrip has also been involved in various important mergers, investments, and acquisitions, some of which are as follows: -
May 2011: Acquired Luxury Tours & Travel Private Limited, a Singapore-based travel agency.
August 2011: Acquired Le Travenues Technology Private Limited, situated in Gurgaon, the parent business of Ixigo.com, which operates a 'online travel meta search engine.'
My Guest House Accommodation, a budget lodging / hotel operator situated in Delhi, was acquired in November 2011.
MakeMyTrip has acquired Hotel Travel Group (HT Group) in November 2012, a travel company with operations in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.
ITC Group, a tour operation firm established in Thailand, was acquired in November 2012.
MakeMyTrip paid an unknown sum for MyGola, a start-up travel guide company.
Deep Kalra’s investments –
2015: Invested as an angel in TrulyMadly, a matching service.
Deep Kalra invested $6 million in a Gurgaon-based online health shop in 2015, joining other investors such as Intel Capital, Sequoia Capital, Omidyar Network, and Kae Capital.
Achievements of Deep Kalra and MakeMyTrip –
Chairperson of the NASSCOM Internet Working Group.
Award for "Best Travel Portal in India."
Member of the CII's Tourism Subcommittee.
Award for "Best Online Travel Service Company."
"E-tailer of the Year" honour
"India's Top Ten Best Places to Work."