Deep Kalra on startup funding, niche travel startups & future of OTAs

Founded in 2000, MakeMytrip, which started India operations in 2005, has changed the way we travel. Makemytrip got listed at NASDAQ in the year 2010 in a fairytale listing. The man behind the bid daddy of OTAs, Deep Kalra started his career at ABNAmro bank and worked at GE Capital, but in between his professional stints at various established corporate houses, he had the chance of working at a startup called AMF Bowling Inc., which actually made him fall in love with entrepreneurship. "I really enjoyed working with startups, working with no rules," said Kalra. After a few stints in different companies, Kalra realised what his true calling was. He wanted to have something of his own. Techcircle caught up with Kalra and spoke to him about various new paradigms in the investment fraternity. An active angel investor, Kalra shares his insights about how things have changed from a decade back to now. "There is much more than just funding happening now like mentoring, guiding and also helping to acquire the right manpower for a startup. I think all these factors are really important for any startup," Kalra added.  Talking about listing Kalra candidly said. "NASDAQ/NYSE is the Mecca for Internet companies. Few more success stories will change the equation at Indian Stock exchange also. But for better valuation, definitely US listing is the way to go."

Watch out the video for detailed tete-a-tete.