As part of our endeavour to identify and share some of the compelling startup stories, we invited Utkarsh Sharma – Founder & CEO – Thailandwale for an interview with us. Utkarsh is a passionate entrepreneur who is leveraging his travel experience of over 12 years to add value to the lives of travellers through his venture. Let’s read more about his inspiring journey!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Utkarsh Sharma:
Destination expertise and direct services are the future of the travel industry, Says Utkarsh Sharma, CEO, Thailandwale.
Tell us a little about yourself please:
I have been working in the travel industry for about 12 years now and worked with a few travel companies. A few years back I even started a travel venture of my own by the name of Jetsup Holidays, which didn’t do that well and we had to ultimately shut it down. I think one of the biggest mistakes we made with this venture was that we tried to run it like every other generic travel company which works on an indirect service model. We also tried to operate with a lot of travel agents, procuring services from different local vendors and then setting them up for the travellers. While this may be a model that is a standard accepted throughout the industry, I felt that we were not being able to achieve the desired results in terms of customer satisfaction. Thailandwale was born out of all the observations we made during this time, in how one can achieve more customer satisfaction and deliver much better services for the travellers. We felt that developing an expertise in a single destination and eliminating the network of fraudulent agents that ultimately seep into the operations for a company trying to offer multiple destinations was crucial to offering a wholesome experience. Now that we take care of every single aspect of tours to Thailand, our travellers are assured of complete transparency and they deal with our team directly, instead of having to contact different people for different issues.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
Basically, I had been in the industry long enough to know that if you want something to change, you have to do it yourself. By saying this I don’t mean that nobody else is doing good work. I just mean that there were a few things I wanted to change and that’s what actually got me interested in entrepreneurship in the first place.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
Like I said, making sure that our clients get the best possible experience on their travels is something that is extremely important to me and always trying to improve on that front is what keeps me motivated. Basically, I want each of our travellers to come back home with a smile on their faces and I am always seeking those smiles.
We have a team WhatsApp group where our customer representatives generally post the reviews or comments of the travellers who have completed their trips. Reading the positive ones gets me going even if I am feeling somewhat down on a particular day. If there is something negative in the comments, that actually drives me on further just to make sure that none of the other clients ever has the same issue again.
Why should people choose your products/services?
We are a single focus travel company, ensuring that everything about travelling to Thailand through Thailandwale is absolutely perfect. And if it is not, we make sure that our representatives are with the travellers every step of the way, always available to iron out any hassles that might pop up unexpectedly. I think that is mostly what any traveller wants from his/her travels, being able to take a hassle-free trip. With our team and our services, what you see is what you get, which is something most people can’t offer. So, there is a certain trust factor involved. Another advantage of travelling to Thailand with us is that you get complete services, all the arrangements, and on the ground expertise, right under one roof. I’m sure most people are not that interested in having to speak to, or tie up with, different people for different things. So that is definitely something that would interest most people travelling to Thailand.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
I think our biggest challenge with Thailandwale so far has been establishing that trust factor with travellers, especially early on. Since we are the only company in India that offers a single destination focus, it took some time for people to actually come to terms with the business model and that somebody could be offering this level of direct services.
Tell our audience more about your failures? How should one bounce back?
Well, I have already mentioned Jetsup Holidays, my first venture. We took some wrong decisions there, maybe we were even a little naive about a few things. I think I made the mistake of trying to just go with the industry’s flow and do what everyone else is doing. That failure was a stinging one not just because my first independent venture had failed, but also because I ended up losing close to 40 lakhs in a swift motion. I think that was a very low period in my life, but thankfully I was able to take the attitude of “nowhere to go but up from here”. I think that’s how one needs to bounce back. There will always be several factors creating doubts in your mind, but you just need to get up, dust yourself off and get back into the game, ready to put in the effort.
I know that sounds clichéd but that’s what I did and that’s what worked for me. I got myself a job, worked hard on paying off the debts and made sure that I was still connected and in the know of the industry that I have loved being part of all my life. Then, after a couple of years of learning more about the industry, I saw a window of opportunity and a problem that nobody else was trying to solve. That is when Thailandwale happened.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
See, everybody needs money. Everybody wants to make money when they start a business and I’m not that different from most people. But, there is an emotional connect involved when it comes to Thailandwale. I consider my clients to be our biggest investors and it is their feedbacks and their satisfaction that is actually going to make this company a success. So the emotional side of it, the side which wants to make sure that every traveller gets the best we can offer, is extremely important too.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I think the people on your team, the people you surround yourself with, play a huge role in how you handle the pressure. We make sure that all of us are on the same page at all times, so as to handle whatever comes our way in the most efficient manner. Another thing that helps me handle stress is the gym. I work out regularly and I find that sweating it out in the gym 5-6 days in a week keeps me centred, and often helps me clear my head too.
What advice would you give to someone starting out, particularly to aspiring entrepreneurs?
I am going to give you the most repeated line but it is something that I swear by. Never give up. There will be many challenges, there will be many lows, but you just have to keep pushing. Push as hard as you can, push yourself to be given everything every single day. There will always be problems when you are starting out, and even as you keep going along on the entrepreneurial journey, but I believe that every problem comes with a solution. All you need to do is think a bit harder maybe. Apply yourself, focus on the problem you are trying to solve, and you will surely find a solution.
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