There’s MakeMyTrip, the big daddy of India’s travel space. Founded nearly two decades ago, it’s the destination for hundreds of millions in venture funding, listed on the NASDAQ, and bringing in over $600 million in revenue annually.
And then there’s EaseMyTrip, in many ways a study in contrasts. Formally registered in 2008 by two brothers, Nishant Pitti and Rikant Pitti, it declared annual revenues of over Rs 1900 crore ($267.5 million) in March 2017 without a Rupee in venture funding. The brothers were just 23 and 21, respectively, when they started out in 2008.
On January 16, India’s largest business newspaper, The Economic Times* reported, citing “people briefed on the matter”, that EaseMyTrip was planning to raise Rs 1,500 crore ($211 million) through an IPO, valuing the young company at between Rs 6,000-7,500 crore ($845 million-$1.05 billion).