Kanika Tekriwal founder JetSetGo
We are sharing an inspiring success story about a woman entrepreneur who created India’s first private aircraft leasing company with a turnover of Rs 150 crore and a private aviation company using the Uber model.
Jetsetgo is a private Indian aviation company founded by Kanika Tekriwal. Jetsetgo is India’s first marketplace for private-chartered helicopters and planes.
She changed the entire concept of flying in a plane if you don’t have the money.
She beat cancer at 21 and founded the company in 2014. She was surrounded by naysayers. She is now the youngest member of the Kotak Wealth Hurun – Leading Wealthy Females, 2020 list.
She is a woman entrepreneur who started Uber’s first Indian aircraft leasing business with a turnover of Rs 150 crore.
She proved that if you dream big, you can join the ranks of high-flyers. After being cured of cancer, she jumped into Indian aviation without ever owning an aircraft. She hoped to start a charter aviation business similar to Ola & Uber.
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Kanika Tekriwal’s early life:
Kanika was born to a Marwari family in Bhopal. Her family owned Maruti dealerships across the country.
Her mother, Anil Tekriwal, was a homemaker after the division. Kanishk is her younger brother.
She grew up learning business lessons, just like other Marwari families. She studied up to 9 th standards at Lawrence Public School, Ooty.
She finished her final studies at Jawaharlal Nehru Higher Senior Secondary school. At that point, they moved to Bhopal. She graduated in economics and received a diploma in visual communication from Mumbai.
She then completed her MBA at Coventry University, London. She worked in the aerospace industry after her masters.
At the age of 22, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma 2nd Stage. When the doctor told her she was short on time, she responded, “I will be back after 40 years.”
She did not come to the hospital as a patient, but to show you that I am still alive and kicking.” This confidence allowed her to defeat cancer in just one year.
Entrepreneurial Journey – JetSetGo:
She has 7 to 8 years of aviation industry experience. She noticed that few people could afford a private jet because of the high maintenance and working costs.
She decided to offer private jet experiences to those who couldn’t afford one.
This was the owner’s profit-oriented centre, not cost centers. In 2014, she founded JetSetGo. She faced two major problems in the aviation industry at the beginning of her career.
She didn’t have enough money at the time and started the business with 5600 rupees. She now earns seven-digit income.
She had to overcome many obstacles in her early stages. In the first six months she was unable to find a single client.
In order to start her business, she used advance money from clients and credit from vendors for the first two years. She provided advice and consultancy to help people buy planes that best suit their needs.
She initially planned to buy a plane and then rent it out. She decided to give up on the purchase of the plane due to unavoidable circumstances.
She then developed a new business model that helped her grow her business. Sudheer Perla is a chartered accountant who graduated from Oxford Management School. She joined the company in 2014 as a cofounder.
She began providing luxury services to customers and some profit to the jet owner. Smart management and advanced technology combined with low maintenance costs resulted in a reduction of the aircraft’s cost.
This increased airtime, decreased ground time and made charter profitable. She allowed customers to fly more for the same amount as they had previously spent.
They were successful because they used technology. With the mobile app, it is simple to book a private jet. JetSetGo is now worth Rs. JetSetGo is a 150-crore company with approximately 200 employees and offices in Mumbai, Delhi Chennai, Hyderabad & Chennai.
They purchased their first aircraft last year. They flew 6000 flights and handled 1 lakh flyers in 2020-21.
Their clients include celebrities, politicians, corporates and other high-ranking people. JetSetGo offers charter flights that range from six-seaters up to eighteen-seat aircraft.
Their most popular sectors are Delhi-Mumbai and Hyderabad-Delhi. Approx. About 5% of their flights are used in medical emergencies. They plan to establish a shuttle service that connects two points within the city.
They recently started it in Mumbai. The charges will vary depending on the distance.
They had planned to use a helicopter as part of this service. They tried it out to verify its feasibility and pushed it because they believe that air taxis will be the norm in the future.
Successes of Kanika Tekriwal
- BBC selected her as one the 100 most inspirational women in the globe.
- Forbes Asia recognized her as one the top 30 entrepreneurs under 30.
- Indian Government awarded her the National Entrepreneur Award.
- She is listed on CNN’s list of the 20 Under 40.
We hope that you enjoy this inspiring success story about Kanika Tekriwal (founder of JetSetGo) who founded India’s first aircraft leasing company.
We hope that you will find a woman entrepreneur, who has built India’s first aircraft leasing business and private aviation company using the Uber model, inspiring and useful in your entrepreneurial journey.
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