OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal shares humble beginnings of the startup in throwback Tweet

In a heartwarming throwback tweet, Ritesh Agarwal, the CEO and founder of OYO, reminisced about the early days of the company and the challenges they faced nearly a decade ago. Agarwal posted a photo from 2013 or 2014, showing him on a call in front of OYO’s third property in Gurgaon, alongside the front office manager.

He revealed that during those initial years, his personal phone number was listed on the customer care page. This was due to the company’s dedication to providing exceptional service even in the face of technical glitches. Agarwal shared a funny memory of being on a late-night call, probably with a customer trying to book a hotel at midnight because the website had crashed.

Throwback to 2013/14, in front of our third property in Gurgaon with the front office manager.

I don't exactly remember who I was on a call with but most likely it was a customer trying to book a hotel at 12 am in the night since our website had crashed. 😅

Oh, the memories!… pic.twitter.com/w5fpsLRHXF

— Ritesh Agarwal (@riteshagar) August 6, 2023

The tweet gained substantial attention and admiration, with users applauding Agarwal’s journey and OYO’s remarkable progress. One user noted that the early days of entrepreneurship had a different kind of tangible result, a sentiment that resonated with many who saw the tweet.

Another user expressed deep respect for Agarwal’s accomplishments, particularly in the challenging hotel industry, and drew inspiration from his journey as they themselves embarked on entrepreneurial endeavors.