Ep. 5 | How OYO Scaled from India to the World | Interstellar with Abhinav Sinha

With an IIT KGP degree, an MBA from Harvard, and a comfortable consulting job at BCG New York, Abhinav Sinha had every reason to stay back in the US. However, in 2014, he packed his bags and returned to India with a mission: to be part of something entrepreneurial.

He took a leap of faith and joined @-RiteshAgarwal at @OYO when it was barely a year old. In doing so, he left behind the comfort of certainty and traded predictability for possibility, betting on belief over a plan.

As one of the earliest OYOpreneurs, Abhinav helped shape OYO’s journey from an early-stage idea to a global hospitality platform.

In this episode of Interstellar, he shares hard-earned lessons from building OYO, how the company navigated challenging times, and where he sees the next big opportunities for founders in the travel space.

Reach Abhinav Sinha:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinav-sinha-5193b15/

Reach Rahul Chowdhri:

X: https://x.com/rchowdhri

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulchowdhri/

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00): Coming Up

(01:20): Introduction

(02:08): How Abhinav became an OYOpreneur

(04:03): OYO’s founding problem and insight

(06:05): Full-stack vs Asset-light model

(08:29): Inventory vs Minimum Guarantee model

(14:39): Insight behind OYO Townhouse

(18:06): OYO’s global expansion strategy

(23:06): Insight behind OYO Vacation Homes

(25:50): Post-COVID reset strategy

(29:09): Consumer evolution in travel

(32:49): Customer segmentation

(37:09): Vertical platforms for travel

(39:17): Zero Commission Models in travel

(41:45): End-to-end travel planning platforms

(45:29): AI’s impact on OTAs

(47:25): Opportunities for founders in the travel space

Find us on

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@StellarisVenturePartners

Apple podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interstellar-by-stellaris/id1794113841

Visit our website at www.stellarisvp.com