INTERVIEW: Bootstrapped online travel aggregator EaseMyTrip makes its way to the public markets

• EaseMyTrip, an online travel aggregator, is set to launch its ₹510 crore IPO on March 8, 2021
• The 13-year old company has never raised money from private equity investors.
• EMT claims to have achieved profitability and calls itself “the only profitable company among key OTAs in India”.

In December last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic when tourism had come to a standstill, US-based online accommodation aggregator Airbnb made its market debut and exceeded expectations. The success of Airbnb has definitely come as a source of strength for travel and tourism players across the globe, including Indian online travel aggregator EaseMyTrip.

But EaseMyTrip, which had filed for an initial public offering even before the pandemic began but delayed it due to the disruption in the travel industry, is no Airbnb. Unlike the US-listed firm, EaseMyTrip dabbles across all sectors in travel – ticketing, hotel booking and more.

However, with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout having begun across the world, the EMT founders are optimistic about the future of travel. “In our third quarter of 2020, we have already recovered 70% of where we were during the same period last year. And absolutely, we did take inspiration from Airbnb,” Prashant Pitti, director at Easy Trip Planners (the parent company of EMT) told Business Insider in an interview.

EaseMyTrip (EMT) is set to launch its ₹510 crore IPO on March 8, 2021. The company is an exception among a large pool of internet companies, which have tried to get listed — EaseMyTrip has bootstrapped its way to the public markets.

The company’s promoters Nishant Pitti and Rikant Pitti are majority stakeholders – holding 49.81% and 49.68%, respectively, in the company.

“We never went for a private equity or a venture capital fundraise, even though there was investor interest along the way,” said Pitti. Over the years the company grew year-on-year comfortably, which meant they never needed to take investor money.

Founded in 2008, Pitti said that the company has grown to be one of India’s big travel aggregators with very less focus on marketing, and more focus on the customer. “We don’t charge a convenience fee. Over the years, we have moulded our company to be extremely cost efficient. We are not a marketing-driven company, we believe that if we provide the product at a cheaper price, people will come by themselves,” he said.


EMT claims to have achieved profitability and calls itself “the only profitable company among key OTAs (online travel aggregators) in India”.


According to a CRISIL report, as of FY20, EMT had a market share of 5% in India. However, the company believes that it would have gained market share in the last year.

EMT’s IPO comes as India expects a flurry of tech IPOs this year – from the likes of food delivery platform Zomato, logistics startup Delhivery, beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa among others.

For the 13-year old company started by the three Pitti brothers, the IPO has been a long-time coming and as Prashant Pitti puts it they “are waiting to create history”.

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