An entrepreneur who is a relentless pursuer of hope, positivity, and drive – Ms. Kanika Tekriwal was not only chosen as one of the 100 most inspirational women in the world by BBC but also recognized by Forbes Asia as one of the 30 under 30 leading entrepreneurs in Asia amongst various other accolades. Her energy is infectious and compels everyone around her to strive for even greater success. A marathon runner, a painter, a traveler, and more – she is redefining her life every day.
Success Mantra of Kanika Tekriwal
“I have always believed in the power of the mind – If you believe it, you can do it. The events one faces in their lifetime are nothing but a reciprocation of a combination of their thoughts and actions. If you think, you believe, and are determined to do something; your actions automatically work towards achieving it.”
When you dare to dream big and show the grit to achieve it no matter what, you become unstoppable. That’s exactly what the relentless pursuit of Kanika Tekriwal to realize her dream illustrates. From battling cancer at the age of 22 to starting her own company in the Indian aviation industry just about two years later, Kanika is the prime example of rock-solid determination coupled with the courage to open her wings to even reach sky-high ambitions.
Early life of Kanika Tekriwal:
Kanika was born in a Marwari business family in Bhopal. Her family owned Maruti dealerships across the country. After the division her father Anil Tekriwal started a real estate business, her mother was a homemaker. She has a younger brother named Kanishk. Her parents wanted her to complete her education and get married to a rich family. But She had a different plan for her when she was a child, she wanted to become a pilot. She did her schooling at Lawrence Public School in Ooty.
Up to the ninth standard, she studied in Ooty, she completed remaining education from Jawaharlal Nehru Senior Secondary School, along with education she was taking the lesson of housekeeping like any typical Indian girl. To complete her graduation, she comes to Mumbai. She completed a diploma in visual communication.
“Mumbai was easy because hostel life had prepared me for the worst. Dad gave me little pocket money as he thought if I got too much money I would get into drinking, smoking, and drugs,” she says, laughing.
“I became my own person in Mumbai and learned to board a bus for the first time in my life since until then I was used to chauffeurs driving me around. I became a street-smart person, and more humane.”
After that, she did MBA from Coventry University in London. She started working after her master’s at the age of 17. She worked in the aerospace industry as Aerospace Industry and Business Resources. While working she realized the potential in the charter market.
“I learned how things work in an international aviation company. I feel I over-delivered here, as I gave in more hours of work, just to be able to deliver the best work,” she says.
“I overperformed, because being an Indian, there was always this insecurity and feeling of inferiority. Everything I know about aviation; I owe it to this place. And it was in that company the idea for Jetsetgo was born.”
Big-shock of her life
In 2011, though, a big shock awaited her when she discovered she had cancer. At that time, she was just 23.
“I came home at once since I wanted to be with my parents,” she says. “They were very supportive, played nurse to me, and made me their priority and it is because of them that I survived.”
“Once I made up my mind to put up a fight, I started reading motivational books by Lance Armstrong, a professional cyclist who fought testicular cancer and was back on track.”
“His words really motivated me and got me going. I underwent 12 chemotherapy sessions and one year of radiation and became alright.”
She was diagnosed with 2nd stage Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 23. During the treatment when the doctor said that she had very little time, she replied, “I will come & see you after 40-years. Not as a patient but just to prove to you that I am alive & kicking.” With that confidence, she defeated cancer in one year & get back to work on her startup.
Kanika’s journey as an entrepreneur
As her career unfolded, she saw the frustration suffered by any customer regarding chartering planes or helicopters. The industry was clouded by charter brokers and operators who were more interested in their commission than satisfying their customers. The absence of a technology-driven platform in the private aviation industry led to a lack of transparency and astronomical prices for the same.
The demand for “something better” was the spark that led her to create “A professional and comprehensive technology driver charter service providing a variety of aircraft with a transparent pricing system”. JetSetGo is a direct result of the desire to solve this problem. It is a customer-centric venture aimed at revolutionizing the private aviation business in the region by redefining the experience for private charter customers.
“I started out when I was just 26, and very naïve. I thought I could change the world, which I still believe I can. Perhaps my mission then was to convince the operators that they can own the plane, but I will be the one making it more serviceable and running it. I wanted to change the way people flew private jets,” Tekriwal says.
She was eager, but she was prudent. Tekriwal had initially planned to buy planes to rent out but dropped that idea a few months into her planning since that did not seem like a viable business. And she developed a business model that was helpful to grow the business. She provides luxury service to the customer and some amount of profit to the owner of the jet. In combination with advanced technology and smart management they reduce the cost of maintenance, increase air time, reduce ground time, and make charter profitable. Also, help customers to fly more in the same amount they spent earlier.
The use of technology made them successful. It is easy to book a private jet with a mobile app. JetSetGo grew into a Rs. 150 crore-turnover company with around 200 employees and offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai & Hyderabad. The company purchased its own aircraft. During 2020-21, they handled 1-lakh flyers & operated 6000 flights. Mostly their clients are corporates, celebrities, politicians, and people of importance. JetSetGo offers a range of charter flights starting from six-seaters to eighteen-seater aircraft.
One of the perpetual problems that any start-up faces is a funding crunch. JetSetGo faced that for almost a year till her friend and cricketer Yuvraj Singh stepped in. Tekriwal says it was only a 40-minute phone call with Yuvraj’s CIO Nishant that helped raise their first round in July 2015. The second round came from Puneet Dalmia, a flyer with JetSetGo, in December 2015.
The company has also decided to expand its inter-city and intra-city air shuttle services using smaller jets, with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). Shuttles for the Mumbai-Bengaluru, Mumbai- Tarapur, and Mumbai-Vapi routes have already been launched. Delhi-Mumbai, Hyderabad-Delhi & Mumbai-Bengaluru are their most flown sectors. Approx. 5% of their flights are used for a medical emergency. They are planning to start a shuttle service between two points within a city. They planned to use a helicopter for this service. They tested it for feasibility and push it as they believe air taxis will become the norm in the future.
Few feathers in Kanika Tekriwal’s cap
- The BBC chose her as one of the 100 inspirational women in the world.
- Forbes Asia recognized her as one of the 30 under-leading entrepreneurs.
- She received the National Entrepreneur Award from the Indian Government.
- She is on CNN’s 20 under 40.