![Knowing that the Thiel fellowship was a fruitful experience brings comfort to Ritesh Agarwal. ](https://img.etimg.com/thumb/msid-100162238,width-650,height-488,imgsize-53916,resizemode-75/knowing-that-the-thiel-fellowship-was-a-fruitful-experience-brings-comfort-to-ritesh-agarwal-.jpg)
Billionaire Ritesh Agarwal, who has made a name for himself in the hospitality industry around the world, dropped out of college to be an entrepreneur. He was just 20 when he founded his company OYO Rooms in 2013.
In a span of 10 years, OYO became one of the top hotel chains in the world with an approximate valuation of more than Rs 330 crore, according to a 2022 report by The Times of India.
Since the inception of Oyo, the founder and Group CEO has never looked back. However, deep down, he continues to regret not receiving a formal education. To make sure he was ready for the 'real-world', he decided to pursue the Thiel fellowship in 2010, three years before he founded his company.
Taking to social media, the hospitality boss shared that the fellowship helped him learn things he didn't get to experience in college.
On completing more than a decade of his fellowship, Agarwal got together with his Thiel fellows, earlier this week, to reminiscence the good ol' days. Knowing that the Thiel fellowship was a fruitful experience brings comfort to Agarwal.
"People often ask me if I missed attending college and receiving a formal education. My answer has always been a resounding YES. The college experience is unmatched - it prepares you for the 'real world', both personally and professionally. But for me, The Thiel fellowship was that big adventure. The learnings, the experiences, and the people I met here, all in one way or the other - led to the eventual genesis of OYO. Recently, a few of us (Thiel Fellows) got together to celebrate 13 years of the fellowship and got a chance to reminisce and reflect on our experiences," he wrote in his post.
Alongside a string of pictures with his colleague, the 29-year-old entrepreneur shared four key lessons from his journey in his post.
Think big: Agarwal said that he learnt to think big from his fellows at Thiel, although being practical was equally important.
"When I was starting out, I had no background or knowledge to break into the hospitality industry. At the Thiel Fellowship, there were teenagers with no background, experience or resources - yet they had ambitions to build something with a global reach. I was always told here, that you need to think big while starting out but be practical in your execution," his caption read.
Don't be naive all the time: Expectations can be overwhelming for an entrepreneur. While naivety isn't a bad quality, one must understand that knowledge is more powerful, according to Agarwal.
"As an entrepreneur, people doubt your ability to make a mark if you have no experience in the industry while starting out. This burden of expectations often pulls down entrepreneurs like an anchor. It's good to have some level of naivety when building something of your own, but you can't be too naive as well. Knowledge is power. Understanding/learning about your industry is really important if you want to create a difference," he added.
Value talent: When Agarwal started his business, he could bring only a couple of properties on board. After making his first hire, he was amazed to see the growth and knew he had to value his people.
"Having the right kind of people around you while starting off is important. When I was managing properties alone, I could only get only 2 properties on board in 6 months. But when I made my first hire, we scaled to 20 properties in the first 6 months. Identifying and aligning your first set of employees with your vision will set the path for the future," he shared.
Non-linear thinking: At his fellowship, he was always encouraged to think about the problem that can plague their ventures. He said he continues to do it.
He wrote, "One of the questions we get asked during the fellowship is - What would you do if capital wasn't a problem? How would you change the world? For an 18-year-old, one would never encounter these questions at school. For those in the fellowship - it forced us to think harder about the problem we were looking to solve. Once again, I got a chance to relive these lessons and memories. I was so humbled to be in the company of people who have redefined how the world operates. From Dylan Field, Co-founder of Figma to Vitalik Buterin who founded Ethereum, to many more who I continue to take inspiration from, thank you all!"
He concluded his post, "From Rayagada to Palo Alto and back to Gurgaon, it has been one amazing journey!"
Making a successful business isn't as easy as Agarwal makes it sound.
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