Pitting for Profits Nishant Pitti, CEO & Co-founder, EaseMyTrip

EaseMyTrip remained a bootstrapped company till it planned to raise money from the public via IPO in 2021. The company got listed on March 2021 in BSE and NSE and crossed USD 1.2 billion valuation. Being profitable for 14 years, EaseMyTrip grew in profits to INR 31 Crores in FY20, INR 63 Crores in FY21 & INR 107 Crores in FY22. EaseMyTrip is one of the largest travel portals which is the fastest growing having 1.5 crore users where 100% of products are sold online. EaseMyTrip also joined the elite club of India's first-ever 100 unicorns and remained India's only company delivering consistent profits among all listed new-age tech businesses. Talking about the inception of the brand, Nishant Pitti, CEO & Co-founder, EaseMyTrip says, "We started as a B2B and B2E company and in the year 2011, decided to venture into the B2C model establishing a strong foothold in the OTA industry as a website that offered international and domestic flights. We were amongst the first and the only company not to charge a convenience fee to our customers which was a regular practice in the industry otherwise."

Rapid expansion has always been one of the prime goals for EaseMyTrip, and in 2013, they decided to expand the company's presence in the OTA space by entering the hotel and holiday packages business. Today, it is not just the market leader in the air booking segment but also has expanded its non-air segments like a cab, cruise, hotels, buses and holidays segment, etc. EaseMyTrip has also expanded its global footprints beyond the Indian subcontinent and decided to enter into international offices in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the USA, New Zealand, and London. Pitti played a vital role in this global expansion, as a person who is actively engaged in the creation of agreements and ventures that would prove beneficial, for both EaseMyTrip, as well as the tourism boards of those respective countries. In the past year, EaseMyTrip acquired innovative companies across diverse travel segments, like Spree Hotels & Yolo Bus, which was aligned with its goal of evolving into an all-in-one travel ecosystem. Talking about his leadership style, Pitti shares, "I believe in a more proactive approach rather than a reactive one. I follow a mix of democratic, strategic, transformational, and transactional leadership styles and switch between them as per my discrete."

EaseMyTrip started to place a strong focus on implementing a number of new tech innovations with the aim of improving the overall user experience and in the quest for innovation. One of the most notable tech implementations was the introduction of WhatsApp chatbots during the pandemic. The WhatsApp chatbots being implemented by EaseMyTrip ensure that customers get all the necessary information on their bookings, and domestic and international travel regulations, and also help in the redressal of any concerns that might arise.

In an era of startups flushing in the name of growth and raising money, Pitti had his vision clear. He mentions, "We remained firm in the decision to not accept funding from any kind of outside sources, and wanted the funding to come from the company's own profits. By adopting a lean business model, and minimizing operational costs, we were able to ensure the stability, and profitability of the company."

Fact File

• Age:36
• Year of joining the current organization: 2008
• Total team size: 500+
• Turnover of the organization: GMV-16630.6 Millions
• Revenue-875.8 Millions