Deep Kalra Success Story: From the Failure of a Bowling Alley to the Success of MakeMyTrip

MakeMyTrip, an Indian online travel firm founded by Deep Kalra, may help you satisfy your vacation desires.

Deep Kalra was born in Hyderabad and spent his childhood in Ahmedabad and Delhi.Deep Kalra is an Indian businessman and entrepreneur who is the founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip, India’s largest online travel firm that provides online travel services such as hotel reservations, air tickets, domestic and international vacation packages, cab booking, train booking, and bus tickets, among other things.

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 professional career began soon after finishing his Master of Business Administration.

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 organization 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 powerful digital influencers in 2011.

Deep Kalra took a major risk when he left a well-paying and stable job at ABN Bank.

Deep Kalra took a big risk by leaving a well-paying and secure career at ABN Bank. He brought AMF Bowling, an American company hoping to enter the Indian market and kickstart the country’s 10-pin bowling revolution.

However, the enterprise did not succeed, and he returned to his monotonous and routine private work. He believes that failure in his situation aided him much in spurring him on.

Deep began his new business career with the help of eVentures and his co-founders.

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.

  • May 2011: Acquired a Singapore-based travel agency, Luxury Tours & Travel Private Limited.
  • 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 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.
  • 2015: Invested as an angel in TrulyMadly, a matching service.
  • Deep Kalra invested $6 million in a Gurgaon-based online health store in 2015, joining other investors such as Intel Capital, Sequoia Capital, Omidyar Network, and Kae Capital.

MakeMyTrip’s Development

Deep Kalra, an IIM-A alumni, started MakeMyTrip in 2000. It was originally utilized to debut in the US market in 2000 to cater to the demands of the overseas Indian population for travel from the US to India. Previously, in the 1990s, during his sabbatical after leaving ABN Amro Bank, he began establishing the bowling alley. However, despite moving from one location to another, surveying locations, and erecting bowling lanes. However, the company was unable to compete with big chains such as McDonald’s and was forced to close after four years of existence. Deep had a fantastic entrepreneurial experience, but it was a financial nightmare.

“Everyone has an entrepreneur within them. Most individuals would prefer to work for themselves if they could make the same amount of money “Deep Kalra‘s

He chose to work as the head of Business Development at GE Capital.

He opted to join GE Capital as the head of Business Development since he wanted to establish his own business but needed more time and skills. He helped GE develop significantly over the internet and met nearly all of the main players in the Indian Internet market. It was at this time that he began to realize the potential of the Internet and the gap between the services supplied and the clients. He left GE after less than a year to launch his own venture, ‘MakeMyTrip,’ with a proper business model. Deep has worked tirelessly to make MakeMyTrip so successful that it was named the Best Travel Portal India by Prestigious World Travel India in 2013 and 2014.

Deep Kalra’s Achievements

  • NASSCOM Executive Council Member
  • 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” honor
  • “India’s Top Ten Best Places to Work.”
Conclusion

“Make it a decent business, a clean business, a business you are really proud of, no matter how large or little” – Deep Kalra

True businesspeople are not created in a matter of minutes, months, or years. Deep Kalra’s success story is a journey of entire commitment for more than a decade that is currently ongoing in order for MakeMyTrip to achieve the next level of success. Deep Kalra’s story is one of the finest instances of how hard effort, determination, and a strong desire to succeed can make a difference in the world. We think Deep’s success story will inspire and assist other ambitious entrepreneurs to make the world a better place to live.

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