Yes Sir, Make My Trip – A Personal Account

May 11th, 2012 § 2 comments § permalink

Yes Sir, Make My Trip.

This is for sure one of the most interesting posts I have ever done and why? Well, because it has everything which takes you from being Good to Great! From sweat to passion, challenges to emotions and much more. Lets start with the present and rewind…

What I did Yesterday on facebook, post a few phone calls:

A couple of days back, while conversing with couple of folks, about Indian entrepreneurs who have made it large and have created powerful Inspiration for many others, I cited Deep Kalra of Make My Trip. Personally I have said it multiple times and once again on record, Deep is one of the best folks Iv met and admire. Out of the many, Iv learnt the lesson of humility and humbleness from him.

Coming to the discussions we had, some folks pointed out, how they knew of relatives and friends, who have had bad experiences with Make My Trip. (For those who don’t know MMT) it created a history of sorts post its listing at NASDAQ on August 12th 2010. That day MMT created another milestone in the history of Indian entrepreneurship and gave wings and fire to zillions of dreams!

Now while the discussions were happening, I was very much only in the listening mode, as it was interesting for me to note reactions of these people who have been MMT customers at some point of time themselves.

My assessment: most of them were really referring to experiences they know other’s had and did not have personal stories to tell!

Moving On…

I searched the official https://www.facebook.com/mmtdeals. The page actually had some pretty sad experiences listed by customers of MMT. Most of them really referring to the ‘customer service’. To actually gather real feedback, I posted the following on my fb wall:

Right after I did this post, people started commenting and sharing. Though there were no real harsh comments (no more harsher than mine).

What happened in a few minutes?

In under 10 minutes of sharing this update, I got a tweet from @makemytripcare: I loved it. When I say I loved it, I mean it. Coz there was someone who followed my fb post through twitter and responded within minutes in a very neutral manner!

But what about the bad experiences on fb?

As always, I try my level best to really get the facts right and from the horses’ mouth. I reached out to the relevant representative(s) from MMT and apprised them of what’s happening on fb.

Interestingly, what came out was, that each of the issue as posted by the customers’ was actually being looked into and many of them actually being responded back. Just that the same was not followed up strongly on the social web.

Example: have a look at this:

Obviously there is more negative than the positive on the page, but there is actual action being taken, which is not being presented the right way, which is obviously creating a very negative context in the customer’s minds towards the brand MMT.

But There is an an issue for Sure!

Yes! There sure are issues and they happen with every organisation which is ever growing. Though obviously every growing organisation strives to achieve greatness, there always are challenges which convert into learning’s and those who learn, they grow to the next level.

My personal interaction with the top management of MMT ensured that there is actual response and action being taken to set things right.

An Email from MMT

I got this official communication from MMT, which said: “Thanks for sharing your candid and valid feedback. We’re passionate about Customer Service AND social media so disappointed to see where this is getting dropped. Will investigate and fix it”

And this is not from a customer care exec over the phone, that I can vouch for with my personal reputation. I don’t mean to demean any position here. Each one, from the lowest in the hierarchy to the top boss, makes for a strong organisation.

Its You and Me who Make the Story!

I want to raise a major question now and I ask of each one of you to introspect and you will know what’s wrong here. Its not the company which is bad. Who is the company? Nothing but you and me.

I personally know of so many people I would not like to work with in my lifetime, when I start-up again, because they are working only with one motivation, to make money to run their lives and have no passion for what feeds them and their children!

That’s the issue. There is only as much an organisation can do to motivate and inspire people, but if you have a problem with your attitude, well, then its a problem and you need to get out OR be made to part ways. Period. I strongly feel, that I am as much part of the issue here.

As a customer, if I am facing an issue with a service provider, let me own it up and make myself heard. And rightly so, people post on social media. But its also upon me to ensure that my message reaches to the right people, such that the issue I faced is NOT faced by others. The story won’t end only with my issue being resolved. A system which I am a part of (directly OR in-directly) will affect me, one day or the other, if I won’t help, make it better!

Someone has to own it up and why can’t we, the customers? The company will.

These are Challenging Times and You Can’t Leave a System, Coz its Not Working for You!

For all those who are a little in tune with the global dynamics int he online travel industry, there is much consolidation in the space and there is a lot happening in the domestic space with airlines directly reaching out to the customers. These are challenges which every online travel company is facing and is braving them!

Now, lets take it this way: if a system has started slowing down for me, OR somehow losing its efficiency, will I leave it and find another green ground somewhere OR can I still stand up and put up a stand and make a difference?

Well, personally I choose the second option. I won’t leave, till the system is absolutely worthless and is like dead for me.

Say it out Loud and I will help You Get Heard by the Right People

As a first step, let me open this out as a forum to anyone and everyone, who has had a bad experience with MMT over the past 1 month. Please be specific in your comments and I will take them to just the right folks and get the answers.

Let’s help the dream of one of the few Indian Internet Billion Dollar Companies, raise its game and create many more dreams!

Expectation Setting

Let me clarify straight ahead, that comments to this post will be moderated and anything which is a comment on a personal basis will NOT be entertained.

Creating Smiles!

Lets get the SMILES back and get the dream run, running faster!!

Confessions of a DOT Com entrepreneur – Deep Kalra, at NASSCOM Friday’s 2.0 37th session

February 18th, 2009 § 0 comments § permalink

“We won’t leave the room, till we answer all the doubts”
One of the success strategies shared by Mr. Deep Kalra, a man who made planning your journeys easier, faster and cheaper, and the process, a whole lot enjoyable, in the NASSCOM Friday’s 2.0, 37th meet at New Delhi.

Mr. Deep Kalra, the founder, MakeMyTrip.com shared his learning’s, challenges faced, business models, entrepreneurship, the Internet, team, regrets, achievements and a turnaround story!

The session kick started with a welcome address by Mr. Ankur Lal, Founder and CEO Infozech Software. We had a gathering of around 33 people, which added to the diversity in experience and learning’s.

Deep started the session with an approach, expected of a seasoned entrepreneur. He divided the session into 3 buckets which contained a story which he started and towards the finish had motivated the participants.

  1. Detailed discussion about MakeMyTrip
  2. Challenges faced along the way
  3. Learning and Takeaways

“Everyone in the world after achieving a certain level of education and experience wants to be an entrepreneur, the reasons may be many”
- Deep Kalra

Deep started with his journey, wherein he discussed about his life as a learner (a student) who started as an economist and “tumbled into a B-school”. He shared his thoughts on the emergence of B-schools introducing the process of taking in laterals from the industry who bring along with them practical experience which helps while you understand the management concepts relating to your experiences.

An IIM-A graduate of the 1989 batch, Deep belongs to a batch of graduates who are today some of India’s most reckoned success stories.

With a career start with a reputed multi national bank in India, Deep got his first learning’s which impacted his life immensely. A confession he made “all this while earning handsomely and learning from immensely successful people, he was always clear that banking was not his defining career choice”. As with every entrepreneur, a strong urge to free himself from the straitjacket, Deep started his stint as an entrepreneur by representing a multinational company dealing into Bowling Alley equipments in India. He was convinced the concept would catch on and the product was sellable.

Soon came the first learning: The product was great, the money was there, but the market was not ready! Hence Deep shared a learning that however specialized a product or service you may have, a solid market research is without any doubts necessary.

An intelligent speaker, Deep had the audience in splits with his wits of presenting his experience doing business with Delhi Businessmen, who are smart!

A very important issue of “Peer pressure” was touched upon by Deep with extreme subtleness. He shared his version of how peer pressure affected him as:

“I was not affected by how much
my peers were making, but about the fact
that I was losing out on my own personal development”
- Deep Kalra

Filling the Vacuum!
Deep, in order to fill this vacuum in life went ahead and joined a multinational as the Head Business Development. Innovation was his motto and Deep proved with his grit and determination, which were properly backed by facts and figures, that the company could be a successful turnaround using the Internet as a tool, which at that time was not something that the Indian consumer would have been very comfortable with!

After a brief stint of 15 months, Deep found his calling!

Before everyone in the room, could hop onto the fast paced F1 that Deep’s interesting life was emerging out to be, he smartly put the brakes and shared a few crucial lessons, which acted as tickets for the participants to hop on for the ride ahead!

“Big companies won’t get on the internet, I realized
change was difficult for them to introduce within
the existing processes. The moment you become large the chips get scattered”
- Deep Kalra

Be Lean, Be Fit!
Vision is never static; in fact the corporate vision should always keep changing with the changing structures of the corporate, as per the market conditions.

Nimbleness and Change, is necessary to be incorporated into the business model.

“You slow down somewhere down the way”, said Deep while he was explaining the growth of a venture and of the entrepreneur.

1999 was the year Deep was struck – with an idea!
After extensive research into the market conditions, Deep was convinced about the idea of either an online Financial Stock trading business or something to do with travel. With a flexible vision and all the life’s learning’s, Deep’s vision took shape with a venture capital funding of $2million for a 70per cent stake in MakeMyTrip.

A lucrative offer, a good salary, a dream getting fulfilled, life could never have been better, was Deep’s first reaction. It was a Win-Win situation for him.

A smart team to be supported by, Deep started off with a website and a vision of defining the travel space in India by becoming the largest company in the travel space. The company was earning good with a sound bank balance, what better for an entrepreneur right?

WRONG said Deep!
A majority of their business was coming from the NRI market and in India; consumers were only lookers and not buyers! Hence the Indian operations were making not much sense as the market was just not mature for such a concept. Deep could have pumped in more money easily but he decided otherwise, and said to his top management “We won’t leave the room, till we answer all the doubts” to where we are wrong! The decision was not an easy one, but was taken and the India model was put on hold for sometime.

A dream gone sour?
With the markets not doing well and the DOT COM Bubble already creating ripples in the subcontinent, Deep was faced with a situation which few had ever imagined. The VC’s backed out and the additional $1million promised never came.

Deep and the team had two choices, either to shut down or else have faith in their concept and buy back the 70per cent equity stake and keep the ball rolling!

As they say “When you set out to do something with all your heart and passion, everything around you supports you”!

Deep got funds from Angels who really proved right to their title “Angles” and bought back the 70 per cent stake, with a team which was not the same as it was sometime back.

How easy is it to take a 100percent cut in your earnings and for the top management a 50percent cut in their salaries? Ask Deep and the team at MakeMyTrip, and they will tell you what sailing on the boat named faith and confidence is when you have nothing else.

The Build-Operate-transfer model was touched upon by Deep and he advised everyone on the “Lure of Lucre”!

You cant Do It Alone!
A team which takes Serious Equity, a prospective for you who is ready to take cuts into hard cash for ESOPS, is the best employee for you!

2004 was the year of reckoning and establishment for MakeMyTrip in India, when the market opened to new models of online travel.

TRY!
Deep was of the suggestion that an entrepreneur should at least TRY! It was this attitude which made him get into the online travel space in India, with a fact backing his belief, that an ordinary Indian gets onto the Internet to book 5000 tickets daily using his/her credit card, in the Indian railways!

Learning’s
- Challenges
“Bootstrapping was the best time during the venture, when we had put all our life’s savings”

– Scaling up
Scaling up is a big challenge for any emerging venture which is looking towards a strategic expansion

Nicely heated up debated sessions have been regular features at MakeMyTrip.

There’s no Hiding!

  1. Get good guys
  2. Share your wealth (ESOP’s)
  3. Hire guys who truly challenge you

“All your Yes-Men are truly useless. It’s about management by exception”

Failures
“The biggest regret and failure was that we outsourced our technology”

None of us knew how to build a web site!

The session drew to a close with an interactive platform for the participants to get their queries answered by Deep himself, which was of a big help.

Link to the post at the NASSCOM EMERGE blog: http://blog.nasscom.in/emerge/2008/07/14/confessions-of-a-dot-com-entrepreneur/