Deep Kalra: MakeMyTrip Founder's Life Story

Key facts
Born	1969 or 1970; Business Today gives 1970 [18]. Most profiles, including a 2010 Forbes India interview, give Hyderabad as his birthplace; Business Today says Delhi [19] [18]
Grew up	Delhi and Ahmedabad; father worked in the private sector, mother was a teacher [19] [20]
Education	St Columba’s School, New Delhi; BA Economics, St Stephen’s College, Delhi (1990); MBA (PGDM), IIM Ahmedabad (1992) [18] [25] [12]
Family	Married to Amrita; two children [18]
Company	Founder and Group Chairman & Chief Mentor, MakeMyTrip Ltd (MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, redBus), listed on Nasdaq as MMYT [52] [1]
Wealth	Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018: rank 755, Rs 1,000 crore, the latest rich-list figure we could find [8]. He held about 2.96% of MakeMyTrip (2,655,720 shares) at 30 June 2026, as compiled by MarketScreener from filings [49]
Known for	Building India’s largest online travel company out of the dotcom crash, and taking it to Nasdaq in 2010

In 2001, Deep Kalra, then in his early thirties, sat across the table from the investors who owned about two-thirds of his company and made them an offer that, years later, still made him laugh at himself. The fund that had backed MakeMyTrip, eVentures, was shutting down after the dotcom crash. Its backers wanted their money back. Kalra could either return cash he did not have or buy the company back. He told them, in his own retelling, “guys I have Rs 46 lakh, and that’s it” - and they said “deal” [20]. In another version of the story he puts the figure at Rs 40 lakh and admits: “I felt like an idiot when they accepted without a fight!” [22]

That buyback, which he later learned had a name - “a distress management buyout” [20] - is the hinge of the MakeMyTrip story. Within weeks, the 9/11 attacks froze global travel. The company cut its staff from 42 to 24 over a single weekend [24]. Kalra went without a salary for about 18 months [24] [29].

He kept going. Nine years later, in August 2010, MakeMyTrip listed on Nasdaq and its shares jumped about 89% on day one [37]. By the year to March 2026 the group, which by then also owned Goibibo and redBus, was processing more than US$10 billion of gross bookings and earned over US$1 billion in revenue for the first time [1].

This is the story of how a banker who feared he would “die on my deathbed writing a credit proposal” [24] built India’s best-known travel website - including the near-death years, a bowling business that flopped, a long fight with India’s competition regulator, a public row over Chinese ownership, and a short-seller attack in 2026.

Where it began

There is no business dynasty in Deep Kalra’s background. His father worked in the private sector and his mother was a teacher, he said on the SenseAI podcast in 2023 [20]. Accounts differ on where he was born: Business Today wrote in 2008 that he was “born 1970 in Delhi” [18], while a 2010 Forbes India interview and most later profiles say Hyderabad [19]. He grew up mainly in Delhi and also spent time in Ahmedabad [19].

He went to St Columba’s School in New Delhi [18], where, he told Ashoka University students in 2017, Shah Rukh Khan was two batches senior. Both counted the same teacher, Brother Eric D’Souza, as a mentor; Kalra called him a “friend, philosopher, guide and mentor” [28]. He was candid about the kind of student he was: “I might have been a naughty kid, but I cared about my grades” [28]. Asked once what he got punished for at home, he said: “For coming late. I am a workaholic” [19].

He studied economics at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, joining in 1987 [25], and then took an MBA (PGDM) at IIM Ahmedabad, graduating in 1992 [12]. He described IIM-A as “a very humbling experience”, where he “met some of the brightest minds” [19].

Eight years of searching

Like most IIM graduates of his time, he went into banking. “I was 23 and fresh out of an MBA and it was a fairly obvious choice to go with the flow,” he said in 2013 [25]. His first job, in corporate banking at ABN AMRO, paid Rs 6,500 a month [18]. Within two to three years (accounts differ) he knew it was not for him. He told TTG Asia he had a “morbid fear” that he would “die on my deathbed writing a credit proposal!” [24]

In 1995 he joined AMF Bowling, the American bowling company, to launch its South Asian operations, and ran them for four years [27]. It was an on-the-ground job - scouting sites, negotiating with property owners, installing lanes, finding investors [24]. “I wanted to do something touch-feel, on-the-ground kind of a thing,” he said [25].

It did not work. He called it “a great entrepreneurial experience but a financial disaster” [25]. Some bowling centres broke even in about two years; “some never did,” he told Business Standard in 2011, blaming “the absence of large-scale growth.” Asked whether he would ever go back, he joked: “I like clicks more than bricks” [27]. His own accounts of the job are not fully consistent: in 2013 he called it the job he enjoyed most and said he stayed four years when “common sense would have dictated that I called quits within a couple of years” [26], while in 2017 he said that the “real panic in me was when I stopped learning in my second job” [28].

In 1999 he moved to GE Capital as vice-president, business development, looking for new ways to sell consumer-finance products [19] [24]. That job put him in front of the internet. Over about 16 months there [19], he met internet founders such as Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri (see our profile of Sanjeev Bikhchandani) and Ajit Balakrishnan of Rediff, and began to think about starting something online himself [19]. In his words, “It took me 8 years to figure out what I really wanted to do” [25].

The first break

Two transactions that changed his mind

Kalra says two personal online transactions convinced him. First, he sold his wife’s car through a website and got about Rs 15,000-20,000 more than a broker would have paid (accounts differ on the figure) [31] [24]. Then, planning a holiday to Phuket, he found a resort online when his travel agent could not. “I was well and truly bitten by the Internet,” he told Business Today [18]. Forbes Asia reported that the online rate was about US$15 a night cheaper than the local agent’s [31].

He weighed an online stock-broking business but chose travel, partly because “travel is fun” [32]. He spent four to five months studying Expedia and Travelocity at night while still at GE [20].

April 2000: a napkin and US$2 million

He set up the company in April 2000 [24]; the website went live that October [22]. The first investor was eVentures, an India fund linked to Draper Fisher Jurvetson and backed by SoftBank and News Corp [31]. The term sheet was agreed on a napkin in a Mumbai mall, Forbes reported [31]: about US$2 million for roughly two-thirds of the company [22].

Only part of that money ever arrived. Kalra told Outlook Business in 2017 that a promised further US$1 million “never came” [23], as eVentures’ backers fell out and the dotcom bubble burst [30]. “I was naive enough to think that I could do it alone,” he admitted later [22]. He put in his savings, and his wife put in hers too [20].

Selling India to Indians abroad

Within months the team found a problem: Indians in India searched for fares but would not pay online. So MakeMyTrip stopped marketing in India and focused on non-resident Indians in the US, selling them flights home [22]. That niche - “visiting friends and relatives” travel - held up better than most after 9/11, because people still flew home for family reasons [22].

The near-death years, 2001-2004

Then came the “triple whammy,” as Kalra calls it: the dotcom bust, the eVentures exit and 9/11. “The real entrepreneurship and the real rubber hit the road in 2001,” he said [20]. The company had “just had enough money to survive for two months” at one point [22].

The staff was cut from 42 to 24 over a weekend [24] [22]. (Forbes Asia reported a deeper cut, from 40 to 12 [31].) Kalra took no salary for about 18 months; early colleagues took cuts of 50-70% in exchange for stock [29]. “Most of us slept in the office,” he recalled [20]. “If you don’t draw a salary for 18 months, it starts causing stress at home also” [21].

Two people stayed, and became co-founders: Keyur Joshi and Sachin Bhatia, who took pay cuts in exchange for equity [22]. A third, Rajesh Magow, had joined as finance head when there was cash for one month’s salaries, telling Kalra they would “either sink or swim together” [23]. When eBookers, a European online travel agency, wanted a call centre in India, MakeMyTrip built a 250-seat centre for it on a build-operate-transfer basis - “I said we would do pretty much anything right now,” Kalra recalled [30]. Magow went to run that unit; Kalra promised to bring him back “when we can afford him,” and did [23]. Magow would one day become Group CEO.

Angel money kept the lights on. A US customer, T. Maheshwar, put in US$200,000 and Raj Singh US$150,000 [22]. In 2004 a much larger company offered to buy MakeMyTrip. The founders wanted US$10 million; the offer rose from US$5 million to about US$7 million and then talks collapsed. “And the meeting ended. And I was actually very relieved,” Kalra said in 2023 [29].

Scarcity shaped the company’s habits. With no spare money, every sale had to make money, and Kalra has said that this early focus on unit economics stayed with the business for years [21] [32].

Building the empire

2005: India comes online

By 2004-05 two things changed India’s travel market. Indian Railways’ online ticketing taught millions of Indians to pay on the internet [32], and low-cost airlines such as Air Deccan made flying affordable for the middle class [31]. MakeMyTrip launched its India business in September 2005 [33].

Kalra had sworn off venture capital after eVentures. He changed his mind. In 2005 SAIF Partners invested and bought out the angels [22]. A second round of US$13 million from Helion Venture Partners, Sierra Ventures and SAIF followed in December 2006 [33]; Tiger Global came in later [39]. SAIF alone eventually put in about US$25 million between 2005 and 2008, and its later exit for about US$400 million was described by Inc42 as one of the largest venture exits in India at the time [34].

Growth was explosive. Gross bookings went from about US$30 million in 2005 to around US$600 million by the time of the IPO, Kalra has said [22]. “The crazy growth was from 2005 to 2010 … when we grew 25x” [20]. In the year to March 2010, sales (gross bookings) were about Rs 2,200 crore and the net loss had narrowed to US$6.3 million, from US$18.9 million two years earlier [35].

August 2010: Nasdaq

On 12 August 2010 MakeMyTrip began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker MMYT. It priced 5 million shares at US$14, the top of its range, raising US$70 million [36]. The stock closed its first day at US$26.45, up 88.9%, valuing the company at about US$903 million [37].

It was a landmark for Indian consumer internet, though not the first Indian internet listing in New York - Satyam Infoway (Sify) had listed on Nasdaq in 1999 [38]. Before the IPO, Kalra held about 14.45% of the company and SAIF about 51%, according to figures from the offering documents reported by Dazeinfo [39]. The year to March 2011 was profitable, with net profit of US$4.8 million [40].

Buying and building, 2011-2015

Listed money funded a string of deals:

• 2011: 79% of Singapore’s Luxury Tours & Travel for about US$3 million upfront [41]; and, with SAIF, a stake in the travel search engine ixigo, MakeMyTrip paying US$4.8 million for 19.9% [42]. MakeMyTrip sold that ixigo stake in 2021 for US$38.5 million [43].
• 2012: Hotel Travel Group, a South-East Asian hotel booking business with about 80,000 hotels, for US$25 million plus an earn-out [44].
• 2015: a US$15 million investment for about 28% of HolidayIQ [5], and the trip-planning start-up Mygola [45].

In August 2013 Magow became CEO of the India business, while Kalra remained chairman and Group CEO [4].

2016-2017: Ctrip and the ibibo merger

The next phase was a fight for market share against Goibibo, backed by South Africa’s Naspers. Discounting was expensive. In January 2016 China’s Ctrip (now Trip.com Group) invested US$180 million in MakeMyTrip through convertible bonds, with a board seat [46].

In October 2016 MakeMyTrip agreed to merge with its biggest rival. It took over the ibibo Group - Goibibo, redBus and others - from Naspers and Tencent in an all-share deal that made the Naspers-led holders the largest shareholder [47]. The stock rose more than 50% on the news [47]. The deal closed on 31 January 2017, with MakeMyTrip issuing about 39 million Class B shares to ibibo’s parent [3]. Overnight, Kalra’s company owned the three best-known brands in Indian online travel.

China’s biggest travel company as the largest shareholder

In April 2019 Naspers swapped its MakeMyTrip holding for a 5.6% stake in Ctrip, deals worth about US$1.3 billion each side, lifting Ctrip’s stake in MakeMyTrip to about 49% [48]. Kalra’s own holding had been diluted by successive deals; by mid-2026 it was about 2.96% of the company, according to MarketScreener’s compilation of filings [49].

Stepping back from the CEO’s chair

On 11 February 2020 Kalra handed the Group CEO role to Rajesh Magow and became Group Executive Chairman, focused on product, new geographies and deals [50]. “I actually believe Rajesh is a better scale CEO than I am,” he said, adding: “I am equally committed and there’s a lot to be done yet” [51]. From 1 April 2022 he became Group Chairman and Chief Mentor [52].

Covid: revenue down 95%

Six weeks after the handover, India locked down. From April 2020 Kalra and Magow took zero salary and senior managers took about 50% cuts [53]. In June the company laid off about 350 people, roughly a tenth of its staff [54]. Kalra called it “the most difficult crisis that we have faced till date” [54] and said the layoffs were “the toughest decision we have ever taken … many sleepless nights” [55]. Revenue for April-June 2020 fell 95.5% to US$6.4 million [56]; full-year revenue for FY2021 fell 68% to US$163 million [57].

The comeback

Travel came back hard. Revenue reached US$593 million in FY2023 and US$782.5 million in FY2024 [58]. FY2024 brought a net profit of about US$217 million - the first annual profit in more than a decade, though flattered by a one-time tax credit of US$126 million [60].

2025: buying back from Trip.com

In 2025 ownership became a political issue (see “Controversies” below). In June 2025 MakeMyTrip raised about US$3.1 billion - roughly US$1.66 billion in new shares sold at US$90 each and about US$1.4 billion of zero-coupon convertible notes - and used most of it to buy back about 34.4 million Class B shares from Trip.com [61] [6]. Forbes India called it the largest fundraise by a listed Indian internet company [62]. Trip.com’s stake fell from about 46% to about 17%, and its board nominees from five to two; Trip.com said it would remain the largest minority shareholder [63] [7].

Where it stands in 2026

For the year to March 2026, MakeMyTrip reported gross bookings of US$10.39 billion, revenue of US$1.044 billion and IFRS profit of US$51.7 million, lower than a year earlier largely because of interest costs on the 2030 notes [1]. Gross bookings for the July-September 2026 quarter were US$2.72 billion, up 20.9% in constant currency [64]. The company employed about 5,500 people at March 2026 [59].

The share price has been volatile: the company’s market value peaked at about US$12.6 billion at the end of 2024 and was around US$4 billion in late October 2026 [66]. (This is a description of history, not a view on the stock.)

The wider footprint

Beyond MakeMyTrip, Kalra is a founding member of Ashoka University, on its governing body and board; a former president of TiE Delhi-NCR (2013-2016); co-chair of the CII’s national committee on tourism and hospitality; a founding member of IndiaTech.org; and a board member of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority [12]. He chaired the World Travel & Tourism Council’s India Initiative until early 2026 [67]. He won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award (business transformation) in 2011 [12] and has backed start-ups personally, such as the short-video app Mitron [68].

The setbacks and failures

Kalra’s story is unusually full of failure, and he talks about it openly.

• AMF Bowling (1995-1999): about four years spent building a business that he calls “a financial disaster” [25].
• The eVentures collapse (2001): a funded start-up suddenly left without its investor, and bought back for Rs 40-46 lakh [22] [20].
• Two months of cash: layoffs of almost half the staff and 18 months without pay [24] [22].
• Years of losses after the listing: after profits in FY2011 and FY2012, MakeMyTrip lost money every year from FY2013 to FY2023 as it fought discount wars, first with Goibibo and then as a merged group [58] [40]. FY2020 alone showed a net loss of US$447.5 million, including a US$272 million non-cash impairment, mostly on the Goibibo goodwill [2].
• Covid (2020-21): a 95% revenue collapse in a quarter, 350 job cuts and zero salary for its top two leaders [56] [54] [53].

His response, in the words he uses most: patience. “If you are trying something out, be ready to try this out for 4-5 years … I haven’t seen anyone build a great company by trying for 2 years” [21]. And: “So many businesses haven’t seen the light of day because someone gave up too early” [29].

Controversies and allegations

No court, regulator or government body has brought any proceeding against Deep Kalra personally that we could find in the public record. The matters below involve MakeMyTrip and its businesses, during periods when he was its chief executive or chairman.

CCI abuse-of-dominance case (2019-2026)

Allegation: In 2019 the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) complained to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) about MakeMyTrip-Goibibo’s terms with hotels; the budget-hotel chain Treebo later complained too. The CCI ordered an investigation in October 2019 [15]. In March 2021 it ordered MakeMyTrip, as an interim measure, to relist Treebo and FabHotels, which it had delisted in 2018 [16]. In its final order of 19 October 2022, the CCI found that MakeMyTrip-Goibibo was dominant in online hotel booking and had abused that position through “price parity” and “room availability parity” clauses and exclusivity terms, and that an arrangement with OYO was anti-competitive. It fined MakeMyTrip-Goibibo Rs 223.48 crore and OYO Rs 168.88 crore, and ordered changes to its hotel contracts [13] [14]. (For OYO’s side of the story, see our profile of Ritesh Agarwal.)

Response: When the probe began, MakeMyTrip said: “We shall extend full cooperation to the Competition Commission of India in the matter,” and said it was confident it complied with competition law [15]. It challenged the final order before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) [9].

What happened next:

• NCLAT required a deposit of 10% of the penalty to hear the appeal [9].
• On 14 December 2022 the Delhi High Court directed that once MakeMyTrip deposited the 10% (about Rs 22 crore), no recovery would be made of the remaining 90% while the appeal was pending [9] [10].
• In August 2025 MediaNama reported that MakeMyTrip-Goibibo’s publicly available hotel partner agreement still contained rate and room-availability parity wording [17]. In March 2026 the short seller Morpheus Research alleged parity was still being enforced (see below) [75].

Status: The NCLAT appeal was still pending in April 2026, according to Inc42 and Outlook Business [77] [78]. We found no reported final ruling as of 1 November 2026.

The 2018 hotel boycott

Allegation: In December 2018 about 270 hotels in Ahmedabad boycotted MakeMyTrip and Goibibo for a week over commissions and discounting without hotels’ consent [69]. FHRAI called the online travel agencies’ practices “exploitative, unethical and divisive”, citing commissions of 18-40% and unauthorised discounting [70].

Response: MakeMyTrip said it was “actively engaged with our partner hotels and are in dialogue with FHRAI,” and its CEO Rajesh Magow called reports that bookings were not being honoured “completely baseless” [70].

Status: The Ahmedabad boycott ended on 7 December 2018. The hotel association’s spokesperson said the portals had agreed to cap commissions and stop discounting without consent; those terms were reported as the association’s account [69]. The wider dispute fed into FHRAI’s complaint to the CCI.

Service tax probe (2016-2019)

Allegation: In January 2016 the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) alleged that MakeMyTrip had collected service tax on hotel bookings but not deposited about Rs 75 crore of it with the government. A senior executive was arrested and released on bail [71].

Response: MakeMyTrip said it was an industry-wide issue, that it had a strong case and would contest it, and that it was cooperating; it deposited Rs 15 crore during the probe [71].

What happened next:

• In September 2016 the Delhi High Court held that the DGCEI had acted “with undue haste and in a reckless manner”, found the arrest contrary to law, and ordered the money refunded [11].
• MakeMyTrip received a refund of Rs 73.9 crore in February 2019 after the order was upheld [72].

Status: Resolved in MakeMyTrip’s favour on the arrest and refund. The court left the tax authorities free to adjudicate the tax question in the normal way [11].

Chinese ownership and the EaseMyTrip row (2024-2025)

Allegation: In January 2024, during the India-Maldives diplomatic row, social-media campaigns called for a boycott of MakeMyTrip after rival EaseMyTrip suspended Maldives bookings and MakeMyTrip did not [73]. In May 2025, after the India-Pakistan conflict, EaseMyTrip co-founder Nishant Pitti said that defence personnel booking on MakeMyTrip were exposing data to a “majorly China-owned” platform, and that five of its ten directors had China links [74].

Response: MakeMyTrip said: “We don’t comment on malicious or motivated accusations,” calling itself “a proud Indian company, founded by Indians, headquartered in India,” run by Indian professionals and compliant with Indian law and data-privacy rules [74]. In 2024 it responded with a “Beaches of India” campaign rather than a statement [73].

Status: We found no government action against MakeMyTrip over its ownership. In June-July 2025 the company bought back most of Trip.com’s shares, cutting Trip.com’s stake to about 17% and its board nominees to two [63]; Inc42 linked the timing to the row [61]. The data-exposure claim was an allegation by a competitor, not a regulatory finding.

Morpheus Research short-seller report (2026)

Allegation: On 30 March 2026 Morpheus Research, which disclosed that it was betting against MakeMyTrip’s shares, published a report alleging that the company still enforced hotel price parity despite the CCI order, was subject to an undisclosed second CCI investigation, used “adjusted” profit measures that flattered results, had not fully provisioned for the CCI fine and a receivable from the collapsed airline Go First, and used misleading “dark patterns” with customers [75] [76].

Response: A spokesperson told Business Today: “This is a typical short-seller report and the company doesn’t respond to such reports” [76].

What happened next:

• The shares fell to their lowest level in more than a year in early April 2026 [77].
• Outlook Business found a CCI website entry that “appears to match” the second probe Morpheus described, but could not independently confirm it [78].

Status: These are allegations by a short seller with a financial interest in the share price falling. As of 1 November 2026 we found no regulatory finding based on the report, and no reported US securities lawsuit or SEC action arising from it.

Consumer complaints and regulatory scrutiny of travel portals

Allegation: Consumer commissions have repeatedly ruled against MakeMyTrip in individual cases. In January 2024 the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission upheld Rs 2 lakh in compensation over a 2012 holiday package [79]; in early 2026 a South Delhi commission fined it Rs 25,000 for “false assurances” over a Covid-era flight refund, saying it “cannot wash off its liability” by calling itself a facilitator [80]. In May 2026 the Consumer Affairs Minister asked the Central Consumer Protection Authority to examine whether online travel agents, MakeMyTrip among those named, charge cancellation fees above airlines’ own [81].

Response: In these cases MakeMyTrip has typically argued that it is an intermediary and not responsible for airline or hotel failures [79] [80]. It said it refunded Rs 642 crore for bookings hit by the 2020 lockdown [82].

Status: Individual consumer orders are small relative to the business. The CCPA examination was industry-wide, and no order against MakeMyTrip had been reported as of 1 November 2026 [81].

BookMyForex card fraud (2026)

Allegation: On 24 February 2026, fraudulent transactions worth about Rs 2.54 crore went through on about 5,000 YES Bank-BookMyForex prepaid forex cards; BookMyForex is MakeMyTrip’s forex unit [83]. Business Today, citing The Economic Times, reported that the RBI was reviewing YES Bank’s handling [84].

Response: BookMyForex denied that its systems or customer data had been breached, said it does not store sensitive card data, and issued replacement cards; YES Bank pursued chargebacks so customers would not lose money [83] [84].

Status: As of 1 November 2026 we found no regulatory finding against MakeMyTrip or BookMyForex.

Giving back

Kalra’s best-known philanthropic commitment is Ashoka University in Sonipat, a non-profit liberal arts university built by a group of founders, each of whom contributes money and time. He is listed as a founder and sits on its governing body and board [12] [85]. The amount he has given has not been made public, and we did not find him on the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List.

He is a trustee of the MakeMyTrip Foundation, the company’s CSR arm, which pledged Rs 5 crore for flood relief in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in 2023 [86]. During the second Covid wave in 2021 the foundation launched CoviRide, a free community platform to find ambulances, transport to vaccination centres and help moving oxygen supplies [87]. Kalra is also a founding member of the Gurugram civic group I am Gurgaon [12].

Succession

MakeMyTrip has already been through its founder transition. Kalra gave up the chief executive’s job in February 2020 [50] and executive chairmanship in April 2022 [52]. Rajesh Magow, who joined in 2000-01 when the company had a month of cash, runs it as Group CEO [64]. Kalra said at the time of the first handover: “I’m not going anywhere” [51]. As Group Chairman and Chief Mentor he remains on the board and focuses on product and new ideas [52].

There is no family succession question: MakeMyTrip is a widely held Nasdaq company, not a family business, and Kalra’s own stake is about 3% [49]. MakeMyTrip’s management has described a listing in India as a long-term goal without a timeline [65].

What their journey teaches

You may need years of “wrong” jobs to find the right one. Kalra spent eight years in banking, bowling and consumer finance before MakeMyTrip [25]. The bowling flop taught him what running a business really costs; GE Capital introduced him to the internet. Neither looked like preparation at the time.

Survive first; the market may arrive later. MakeMyTrip’s idea was right in 2000, but India was not ready. By serving NRIs in the US for five years, the company stayed alive until railway e-tickets and low-cost airlines brought Indian customers online in 2005 [22] [32].

Scarcity can build better habits than capital. Bootstrapped after 2001, the company had to make every sale pay [21]. Kalra kept talking about unit economics long after money became easy.

Share the pain and the upside. When pay was cut, colleagues got stock; by the 2010 IPO, he says, 75% of staff held shares [20]. The people who stayed through 2001 became co-founders, and one of them now runs the company.

Know when to hand over. Kalra handed the CEO job to Magow, saying Magow was the “better scale CEO” [51]. Founders who stay forever are common; founders who pick a better operator and say so publicly are rarer.

Scale brings scrutiny. The same market leadership that made MakeMyTrip valuable put it in front of the competition regulator, consumer commissions and a short seller [13] [75]. Dominance has to be run with care.

You can find more on markets and businesses in our Insights section, and other founder stories, such as Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo, whose low-cost airline was part of the flying boom that grew MakeMyTrip’s market.

A profile for general reading, based on public records and reporting as of 1 November 2026. Not investment, tax or legal advice.

Sources (87)

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24. View from the top: Deep Kalra - TTG Asia, May 2012
25. What made Deep Kalra what he is - YourStory, Jul 2013
26. MakeMyTrip's Deep Kalra on bowling, resilience and going against common sense - iSPIRT ProductNation, Nov 2013
27. Bowled over - Business Standard, Jul 2011
28. What you must know about Ashoka Founder Deep Kalra - Ashoka University, Jan 2017
29. First Principles Ep. 11: Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip - The Ken, Jan 2023
30. Kalra's Online Trip - SiliconIndia, Jun 2008
31. The Bumpy Ride for Deep Kalra's MakeMyTrip Web Operation - Forbes Asia (reprint), Apr 2013
32. Deep Kalra on building India's first consumer internet success (Accel podcast) - YourStory, Sep 2019
33. MakeMyTrip Raises USD 13 Million in Second Round of Funding - PR.com, Dec 2006
34. SAIF Partners Pulls Off 16x Return, Exits MakeMyTrip At $400 Mn - Inc42, Feb 2017
35. On a long trip to profits - Business Standard, Aug 2010
36. MakeMyTrip Limited prices IPO at $14.00, at high end of the range - Renaissance Capital, Aug 2010
37. MakeMyTrip valuation doubles after the US debut - Business Standard, Aug 2010
38. Satyam Infoway Brings India's First Net IPO on Nasdaq - InternetNews, Oct 1999
39. MakeMyTrip plans to raise $100 million by IPO to exit VC investors - Dazeinfo, Jul 2010
40. MakeMyTrip posts Q4 net profit of $3.7 mn - Business Standard, May 2011
41. MakeMyTrip reports $1.77m profit; buys Singapore travel agent for over $3m - MediaNama, Feb 2011
42. MakeMyTrip, SAIF Partners to buy 76.6% in Ixigo - Business Standard, Aug 2011
43. MakeMyTrip exits ixigo ahead of IPO - Business Today, Aug 2021
44. MakeMyTrip acquires South East Asia focused Hotel Travel Group - MediaNama, Nov 2012
45. MakeMyTrip acquires travel planning services provider Mygola - MediaNama, Apr 2015
46. Chinese Travel Booking Giant Ctrip Invests $180M In India's MakeMyTrip - TechCrunch, Jan 2016
47. Going on a growth trip - Business Standard, Oct 2016
48. China's Ctrip now owns half of India's MakeMyTrip following share swap with Naspers - TechCrunch, Apr 2019
49. Deep Kalra: positions and holdings - MarketScreener, Nov 2026
50. Deep Kalra Steps Down As MakeMyTrip CEO; Rajesh Magow Takes Over - Inc42, Feb 2020
51. MMT's Kalra aims to keep busy with product, M&A and expansion: 'I'm not going anywhere' - WiT, Mar 2020
52. MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra steps down as Group Executive Chairman - YourStory, Jan 2022
53. MakeMyTrip's Deep Kalra, Rajesh Magow to draw zero salary due to Covid-19 impact - Business Standard, Mar 2020
54. MakeMyTrip lays off 350 employees - MediaNama, Jun 2020
55. Had many sleepless nights over layoffs: MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra - YourStory, Aug 2020
56. MakeMyTrip's revenue drops by 96% to $6 Mn last quarter - Inc42, Aug 2020
57. What The Financials: MakeMyTrip revenue plummets by 68% in FY21 - Inc42, May 2021
58. MakeMyTrip (MMYT) revenue history - StockAnalysis, Nov 2026
59. MakeMyTrip (MMYT) number of employees - StockAnalysis, Nov 2026
60. MakeMyTrip's Q4 profit jumps multifold to $172 mn on tax credit gains - Business Standard, May 2024
61. MakeMyTrip Raises $3.1 Bn To Buy Back Stake From China's Trip.com - Inc42, Jun 2025
62. Inside MakeMyTrip's $3.1 billion shake-up - Forbes India, Jun 2025
63. MakeMyTrip completes share repurchase to cut China firm's stake - The Tribune (PTI), Jul 2025
64. MakeMyTrip reports 20.9% growth in gross bookings to $2.7 billion in Q2 FY27 - Hotelier India, Oct 2026
65. MakeMyTrip Ltd (MMYT) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Highlights - GuruFocus via Yahoo Finance, May 2026
66. MakeMyTrip (MMYT) market capitalization - CompaniesMarketCap, Nov 2026
67. WTTCII Announces Office Bearers For 2026-2028 Term - BW Travel, Feb 2026
68. Mitron app raises $5 million in Series A funding; Nexus Venture Partners, Deep Kalra among investors - Business Today, Aug 2020
69. Over 270 hotels withdraw week-long boycott against MakeMyTrip, Goibibo - Business Standard (PTI), Dec 2018
70. Hotels association puts MakeMyTrip, Goibibo on notice - YourStory, Dec 2018
71. MakeMyTrip faces Rs 75 crore service tax probe - Business Today (PTI), Jan 2016
72. MakeMyTrip gets Rs 73.9 cr tax refund - Business Standard (PTI), Feb 2019
73. Lakshadweep vs Maldives: MakeMyTrip caught in social media storm, faces uninstall threats - exchange4media, Jan 2024
74. 'Proud Indian company': MakeMyTrip rubbishes EaseMyTrip's allegations on Chinese ownership - Inc42, May 2025
75. MakeMyTrip: How India's Largest Travel Platform Openly Defies Regulators (short-seller report) - Morpheus Research, Mar 2026
76. MakeMyTrip padded profits, misled customers, allowed 'bad actor' hotels on its platform: Report - Business Today, Mar 2026
77. Why MakeMyTrip Became A Short-Seller Target - Inc42, Apr 2026
78. Is MakeMyTrip Influencing the Hotel Prices You See? Short-Selling Controversy Explained - Outlook Business, Apr 2026
79. MakeMyTrip Asked To Pay Rs2 Lakh Compensation for Deficiency in Tour Package - Moneylife, Jan 2024
80. Consumer Court Orders Malaysia Airlines To Refund Customer, Also Slaps Costs on MakeMyTrip - Moneylife, Mar 2026
81. India's consumer regulator to investigate online flight booking platforms over cancellation fees - MediaNama, May 2026
82. MakeMyTrip refunded Rs 642 cr for travel bookings during March 25-May 24, 2020 - Free Press Journal, Aug 2021
83. Data Breach On YES Bank-BookMyForex Cards Led To Rs 2.54 Cr Loss - Inc42, Feb 2026
84. Yes Bank under RBI lens after data leak on BookMyForex card - Business Today, Feb 2026
85. Ashoka Univ Profs Exit: Who Are the Founding Members of Varsity? - The Quint, Mar 2021
86. MakeMyTrip Foundation pledges Rs 5 crore to aid flood relief efforts - Business Standard, Jul 2023
87. Covid-19 crisis: MakeMyTrip Foundation launches community platform CoviRide - Deccan Herald, May 2021