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Ritesh Agarwal is an entrepreneur who founded OYO, a company that brands and manages budget hotels and homes, while still a teenager. OYO expanded rapidly across India and abroad, making him one of the best-known young founders of India’s start-up era.
Biography
Teenage founder
Agarwal grew up in a small town in Odisha, where his family ran a shop. As a teenager in Kota and Delhi he travelled cheaply around India and noticed how unreliable budget hotels were. In 2012, at about eighteen, he started Oravel Stays, a listing site for budget stays.
Thiel Fellowship
In 2013 he won a Thiel Fellowship, which gives young people money to build companies instead of going to university. He relaunched his business as OYO Rooms, partnering with small hotels to standardise rooms with clean sheets, Wi-Fi and breakfast under the OYO brand.
Rapid growth
Backed by investors such as SoftBank, OYO expanded to hundreds of cities and several countries in a few years, also buying vacation-rental businesses in Europe. The pandemic hit the company hard, and it cut back before returning to profit.
Public profile
Agarwal has been a judge on the television show Shark Tank India, where he invests in young founders.
Timeline
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2012
Starts Oravel Stays
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2013
Wins Thiel Fellowship; launches OYO Rooms
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2018
OYO expands abroad
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2023
Joins Shark Tank India as a judge
Did you know?
-
1
He started his company at about eighteen.
-
2
He received money to skip university through the Thiel Fellowship.
-
3
He is a judge on Shark Tank India.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Ritesh Agarwal?
Ritesh Agarwal is an entrepreneur who founded OYO, a company that brands and manages budget hotels and homes, while still a teenager. OYO expanded rapidly across India and abroad, making him one of the best-known young founders of India’s start-up era.
Where is Ritesh Agarwal from?
Ritesh Agarwal was born in Bissam Cuttack, Rayagada district, Odisha.
What is Ritesh Agarwal known for?
Ritesh Agarwal is best known for Founding OYO Rooms as a teenager; Thiel Fellowship.
References
- Ritesh Agarwal — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Ritesh Agarwal — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Ritesh Agarwal (Q61070629) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Ritesh Agarwal”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
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About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 27 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Ritesh Agarwal.” TrackFame, last updated 28 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/ritesh-agarwal
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