In 2013, 18-year-old Ritesh Agarwal founded OYO Hotels & Homes in India. The company began as Oravel Stays, a platform for listing budget accommodations, around the same time that Agarwal was accepted to the Thiel Fellowship.
Af ter seeing a larger opportunity in real estate, Agarwal pivoted the company to the OYO Hotels & Homes we know today. It is now one of the world’s fastest-growing chains, with more than 13,000 franchised and leased hotels and 6,000 homes and spaces, altogether totaling more than ...
