RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Jan.18: A native of Chatra in Jharkhand. Ritu Raj, who started his business of providing accommodation to working professionals and students in 2019 using his college fee in Patna, the capital Bihar, and expanded it to his state’s capital Ranchi, is now planning to spread his business further in Odisha, which is fast growing as an education destination.
Raj, so far served more than 500 customers with combined revenue of Rs 2 crore, shared his plan with lagatar24.com in an exclusive interview.
“Till now we have served more than 500 customers with combined revenue of Rs 2 cr. To date, we have 30+ properties with 180 beds totally bootstrapped, currently we have MRR of 10+ Lakhs and our goal is to have over 100,000 beds in the next five years. We have to expand our business in Bhubaneswar,” Raj said.
While sharing a business plan, he explained how he could generate possibility at the face of challenge.
“It all started while I was in college and transferred to Patna for further studies. As an individual far from home I encountered a dilemma, I assume everyone moving away from home feels like “where to live”. I managed to find a hostel for myself, but I quickly became dissatisfied with the hostel’s inadequate facilities. After speaking with all of my pals, I discovered that they, too, had experienced similar difficulties. For a long time, I considered starting a side business, but then I decided to help my friends first,” he said.
Explaining how his business expanded he said: “I began visiting hostels in Patna in order to gain a better understanding of the hospitality industry. The concept of giving people with decent hostels or PG occurred to me in the year 2018 when I was planning to create my own business with the support of my friends under the name “GO FOR ROOMS.”
“We used to collaborate with hostels to provide students with safe and comfortable accommodations. However, while working on “Go for Rooms,” I realised that many young professionals were also having difficulty finding adequate living places. While hostels cater to students and flats to families, there are few possibilities for working bachelors. When I relocated to Ranchi for expansion, I met Sachin, who had experienced a similar difficulty when working in Noida. We changed our minds and decided to build homes for working bachelors. We needed money for this, so I paid my semester fees into it without telling my family. “Oho Living” was the new name of our company,” Raj added.
“Later, I used my Oho living profits to repay my education costs. We started working toward the end of 2019, we were in the early stages of our business, and the COVID-19 pandemic attacked the planet, putting the entire world under quarantine, and we were forced to evacuate certain locations due to poor occupancy. However, as the trend of working from home expanded, we changed our buildings to be more suitable for remote work and experienced an increase in occupancy, which we expect to continue through 2021. We also extended to a second city that year. Saurabh joined us in March of 2022 as the company’s CMO. Saurabh has done a few start-ups in the past and recently left one of them owing to personal issues,” Raj added.
Talking about his business, Raj said: “Oho Living is designed to provide an enhanced living experience for working professionals. We focus on creating a comfortable and secure living environment that is equipped with modern amenities, such as high speed internet access, ample storage space, and a well-equipped kitchen. We also provide additional services such as housekeeping, dedicated property manager, and recreational activities to ensure that our tenants can make the most of their living experience. We strive to create a sense of community among our tenants by organizing regular events and activities, such as nature exploration rides, night shows, indoor games, quizzes. Our flats are located in prime locations with easy access to public transport, shopping malls, and other city attractions. This allows our tenants to enjoy the best of what their city has to offer. We understand that our tenants have different needs, and we strive to meet those needs through our exceptional service. We want our tenants to feel safe, secure, and comfortable in our living spaces. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality living experience for our tenants. Our Mission is “To provide good quality living spaces to the young working population”. Our Vision is “creating a network of vibrant, inclusive communities where people can live, work, and thrive together.”
