One of the youngest millionaires, Bhavish Aggarwal founded Ola and became successful through his hard work. Here are some interesting facts about Bhavish Aggarwal that you should be aware of.

Early Days

Bhavish Aggarwal was born and raised in Ludhiana, Punjab, in August 1985. In 2008, he earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay).

In 2008, Bhavish launched Desitech.in as his blog. His blog focuses on Indian startups, tech geek topics, events, etc. With Microsoft Research India, he began his career as a research intern.

After graduating from college, Bhavish spent two years working for Microsoft Research in Bangalore. He submitted two patent applications and three research articles for publication in international journals while working at Microsoft.

Launching Ola

After leaving Microsoft, Bhavish launched an online business that dealt with short-duration tours and vacations.

When Bhavish Aggarwal was travelling from Bangalore to Bandipur, the driver abandoned him in the middle of the road. In the middle of the road, the driver stopped him and began renegotiating the entire transaction.

When Bhavish refused to accept his condition, the driver continued to leave him behind while travelling to his destination.

Instead of complaining about the situation, Bhavish decided to resolve it. His feeling of helplessness inspired him to start a successful and fulfilling taxi service.

Finally, in Mumbai, Bhavish and Ankit Bhati founded Ola Cabs in 2010.

In this project, Bhavish's co-founder, Ankit Bhati, joined in November 2010. As Chief Technology Officer, he deals with the technological aspects.

He graduated from IIT Bombay with a B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering and an M.Tech in CAD & Automation.

In 2010, Bhavish and Ankit Bhati launched "OLA CABS" in Bengaluru, which was a rebranding of their prior business and was owned by ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd.

The word "Ola," which means "Hello," is derived from the Spanish word "Hola."  Bhavish Aggarwal knew he would need vehicles and drivers to meet the needs of his passengers. He then began adding drivers to Ola Cabs.

Challenges Faced While Building Ola

The founders, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati faced many obstacles at the initial stage. Co-founder Ankit worked long hours and had to code for 48 straight hours.

Sometimes, when the drivers didn't arrive, the founders had to take the customers themselves to their desired locations. However, this did not drain their spirits. People started to appreciate them as a result of their services.

Ola Cabs was successful in attracting cab drivers and investors, but it had a difficult time attracting customers because India did not have a strong cab culture.

They were very successful in their marketing strategy of getting the customers accustomed to taking cabs.

Because of their diligence, they were able to cope with the challenges. After that, they made the decision to move their office from Mumbai to Bengaluru. They also released their mobile app.

Secret Behind Ola Success

Bhavish chose only vehicles with an All India permit (similar to those used by travel agencies), and he used them to travel both inside and outside the city. Another thing they used to offer to entice customers was their special, affordable plans.

But even more than that, or at least on a comparable note, what aided them was M-commerce. Bhavish could see that m-commerce was rising and would continue to do so in the future.

Because of this, it would be much simpler for the consumer to access knowledge or data through their smartphone with little effort. And the amount of connectivity this would generate would only improve convenience for the general public.

To leverage this expanding industry, Bhavish decided to capitalize on this untapped factor.

Bhavish Said “Cabs and taxis are still a market that needs to be disrupted. The problem will be solved by smartphones and technologies like GPS. We are leveraging new technology,.”

In 2010, Ola and Bhavish had just begun their journey. Today, Ola is valued at $5 billion, and Bhavish has made it to TIME’s top 100 influential people.

Ola Cabs Business Model Overview

Ola operates under a straightforward model. It acts as a facilitator to provide cab-booking services. Through the app, customers can book cabs. None of the taxis is owned by Ola.

Drivers with valid licenses who are authorized and verified through transportation authorities are permitted to register with Ola. These drivers can be independent contractors or employed by a company with several vehicles.

Once they register with Ola, drivers have access to a driver-specific mobile app on their smartphone, just like we do as customers.

This is only done after reviewing the authenticity and personal papers belonging to both the driver and the customer. The drivers are free to select their own time to log in to the Ola app and accept ride requests from customers.

Growth Story of Ola

The business started to grow at a rapid pace with the help of such long-term, forward-thinking strategies.

In 2014, the business had built up a network of over 200,000 cars spread across 100 cities. It was also making an average of more than 150,000 reservations per day and holding 60% of the Indian market.

After raising $200 million from investors such as Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, and Edelweiss, among others, Bhavish Aggarwal's Ola Electric has an estimated $5 billion market value today.

Ola Electric joins the group of India's swiftest unicorns with this round.

One of the biggest ride-hailing companies in the world, Ola serves more than 250 cities in India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Ola is also the largest mobility platform in India. To provide convenience and transparency for millions of customers and over 1.5 million driver-partners.

Now, in addition to cabs, Ola Cabs also provides auto-rickshaws (under the name Ola auto), bicycles (under the name Ola pedal), boats (under the name Ola boat), share cabs (under the name Ola Share), prime cabs (under the name Ola Prime), electric vehicles, etc.

It also announced the launch of its all-new S1 scooter, with the latest MoveOS features, for ₹ 99,999.

Bhavish Aggarwal Networth

The estimated value of Bhavish Aggarwal's net worth as of 2022 is $500 million, which is about Rs 3500 crore in Indian currency.

As of 2022, the company's net worth is predicted to be $6.5 billion.

Interesting Facts about Bhavish Agarwal

  • Bhavish received the mBillionth Award in South Asia in 2013.
  • His name appeared in The Hindustan Times' list of "30 under 30"
  • Bhavish Aggarwal is one of the people on Forbes' list of 30 under 30.
  • At the 2019 SABRE Awards South Asia, Bhavish Aggarwal received the CEO of the Year honour.
  • He received the Entrepreneur of the Year award, according to the Economic Times.

So, by launching the Ola Cab project, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati have helped many individuals. The Ola app is very simple to use; all it takes is a single touch to send the driver on their way, and they will be there in a short period of time.