Entrepreneurship Journey: Deep Kalra Sir Impact at MakeMyTrip

From the Audience to the Arena: A Full Circle Moment with Deep Kalra Sir CEO & Founder, MakeMyTrip

Thanks to TiE Delhi-NCR, I had the incredible opportunity to visit the MakeMyTrip office and interact with one of India’s most iconic entrepreneurs, Deep Kalra, Sir.

This wasn’t just another startup session. For me, it was personal.

The last time I saw Deep Sir was back in 2011, when I was mistakenly handed a VIP invite to the CNBC-TV18 Young Turks Awards while serving as the E-Cell Coordinator at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade .

I was seated just behind Deep Sir and other titans of Indian entrepreneurship—completely overwhelmed, a little out of place… but entirely inspired.

That evening planted a seed.

I left the event with a quiet conviction: that one day, I would dare to follow in the footsteps of those dreamers and builders who started from scratch and created something meaningful.

Fast forward to today—building Hyphen SCS and finding myself once again in the same room as Deep Kalra Sir, this time as a founder… it felt surreal.

And what made the moment even more special?

Deep Sir didn’t just listen to our pitch.

He generously shared his thoughts, gave constructive feedback, and—most importantly—offered genuine words of encouragement that added fuel to our vision of building the de facto platform for anything and everything related to warehousing in India.

While many know him as the Founder & Group CEO of MakeMyTrip, what makes Deep Kalra Sir truly remarkable is the many hats he wears—and the purpose behind each one:

🔹 Chairman – IndiaTech.Org: Championing Indian internet companies
🔹 Founding Member – Ashoka University: Shaping future changemakers
🔹 Founding Member – I am Gurgaon: Transforming urban life through civic engagement

Thank you once again, Deep Kalra Sir, for your time, your insights, and your belief in the next generation of founders.

What makes me even happier is that, in my capacity as Vice President of the Young Leaders Council AIMA , we will be hosting him as one of the key speakers at the All India Management Association (AIMA) Young Leaders Summit 2025 on 10th December 2025 in Delhi.

And heartfelt gratitude to TIE Delhi-NCR for enabling this powerful interaction.

arunpandit.com

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