Know all and more about these innovation-driven entrepreneurs and their success journeys that are nothing short of inspiring!
To be a great entrepreneur and eventually become a game- changer, you need more than just an idea; you need passion, perseverance, hard work and innovation to accomplish your goals. Although every entrepreneur out there has different objectives; all of them work with the same belief – to transform their ideas into reality, despite facing the challenges head-on. Acknowledging their sheer hard work and spirits to never-sit-back, TravelScapes features some dynamic tourism entrepreneurs who have put everything on the line to build and grow their respective businesses, carving a niche for themselves in the travel and tourism industry. Each of these dreamers, believers and achievers who chose to be different and innovative on every page they turned to while writing their success story, share how they got started, their brand-building journeys, what obstacles they had to deal with, the key learnings along the way and their respective mentors who sparked the motivation in them to get a foothold in tourism and businesses in general
A THOUGHT LEADER LIKE NO OTHER
It's impossible to discuss the most influential tourism leaders without mentioning Rajeev Kohli. With more than 26 years of industry experience, many opinion pieces and articles under his name and recognitions galore, Kohli is proud to have gained an unmatchable reputation as one of the top thought leaders in the tourism industry. From being a traveller at heart who has been helping people plan exceptionally unique expeditions through his prominent family-run DMC to becoming the first Asian holding the global position of a President at SITE, from leaving no stone unturned to showcase India to the world, to making significant contributions to tourism industry at different levels, Kohli has always proved to be a true ‘all-rounder’
A sense of entrepreneurship that was always inherent:
Right when I started the process to get my MBA, I realized the prominence of entrepreneurship. I was curious about the world of independent thinkers and got my MBA with a specialisation in Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California, which was one of the top three programs in this area in the US. Entrepreneurship is a lot more than just starting a business. How to make a business plan, how to make a pitch, self analysis as a business leader and much more that goes into being an entrepreneur. What I learned in the program was super useful in working with the family to make Creative what it is today. I never planned for this, just naturally happened.
Rohit & Rajeev- The dynamic duo of Creative Travel:
One strong differentiator between us and others is the grounded training I and Rohit had. We were bottom-rung employees for many years and had to work out way up. That gives us a deep respect for the skills and seniority of the team we have. One can run a company as a corporation, or one can run it as a start-up; we have always strived to reinvent ourselves every few years, if not sooner. We have a strong desire to experiment, to try new things. We have a strong heart to accept failure. To be successful, you need inspiration. That comes in different ways to different people. Personally, I am inspired by colour, by art and architecture.
I take that inspiration into our processes and how we deliver amazing travel experiences. My brother does the same in his way. We encourage our team to think differently as well. Our success will never come from better rates or larger volumes. Our success will always come from our mindset, our approach and our objective to always be different. So, when you ask how we are different from others, it is simply because that is our main mission.
(*Rohit Kohli is the Joint Managing Director at Creative Travel group with a demonstrated history of working in the tourism industry. Along with Rajeev, Rohit runs the very successful business of Creative Travel which today is India's largest privately owned Destination Management Company)
Emerged strong and bold despite the road-blocks:
When Rohit and I joined Creative 27 years ago, we were very tiny. Creative is what it is today because of the hard work of not just the family but the team we had and have. We, of course, have faced tremendous business challenges over the years like every other company in our space. But with every challenge comes the opportunity. And we took those opportunities and made lemons out of lemonade. Tourism is a perpetual roller coaster and not for the faint-hearted. But nothing tested our resolve like the pandemic did. We prioritised the livelihood of as many team members as we could bear. We put our lives on a hold. We had people who were hurt and that shattered us inside. But we also realised this was our opportunity to change Creative yet again and look at new ways of doing things. We have emerged strong and bold.
Our People, Our Strength:
A leader leads from the front. Leads by example. I have always tried to follow this. At Creative, we do not have staff or employees, but we have team members. We consider ourselves to be a family. We care about the men and women who work for us. Our people are our only asset. So, grooming them, inspiring them and mentoring them is what we consider to be our path to success.
Word of the Wise- “It is we who must change, think afresh and show the world we mean business”
The day the private sector stakeholders in Indian tourism understand and appreciatethe need; necessity for self-improvement and continuing education, you shall see anew Indian Tourism emerge. I have no hope from our government institutions. Everything that India has achieved in tourism in the past 20 years has solely been on the backs of the private sector. If we want a brighter tomorrow for India, it is we who must change, think afresh and show the world we mean business. Pay heed - “Only a fool expects different results from doing the same thing again and again.”
Empowering Life Mantra and Mentors:
My primary mentor has been my father. But I have also had so many people along my journey, some far senior to me and some junior, that have affected my thinking and approach. I like to observe, listen and then take that spark into what I do. But if I was to pinpoint one thing, it was back in B-school where one of my professors once said, “Telling an entrepreneur how to run his company is like telling a partner how to raise their child”. So true. I saw that in how I approached my father, and it took me a while to learn how to adjust myself when working with a very successful A-type personality like he was. I see that in myself in how I work with people. Real entrepreneurs can be a very difficult lot.
