We come across many inspiring stories that inspire us to follow our passion and follow the path where our heart is. The trend in the country changes every hour and it is very necessary to adapt yourself to these changes. To be competent enough, your ideas should be out of the box.
This is the story of a gamer turned entrepreneur. Yes! you read that right. Behind a successful mind is a genius brain, but behind Zostel was a very passionate gamer.
Via: Travelwirenews
Dharmaveer was intensely fascinated by games and was counted among the top 10 in the Poker game. He always wanted to invest his knowledge that he gained at IIT(BHU) Varanasi and IIM Calcutta in something that he loved. And his love was to get into the gaming industry. For this, he even did an internship with Zenga.
Zostel And Its Story
One thing that is common in entrepreneurs is the urge to do something more than just being a corporate slave. This is the classic story of an IIT graduate who was not happy with his engineering degree and wanted more value in life.
While he was searching for a job, he got an internship in Germany. To manage his pocket, he used to stay in affordable hostels. These were cheap, clean and suited his budget very well.
Via: Bir Limited
Where He Met His Co-Founder
After completing the internship he got admission at the IIM where he met his co-founder of Zostel. Their common passion to travel and explore under budget made them friends. India lacked affordable hostels and this is what made them think of Zostel.
Launching Of Zostel
Dharamveer being an avid gamer tried his luck and won $10,000. This amount helped the startup enthusiasts to come up with a team and build up the idea of Zostel. On 15 August 2013, Dharam Veer with a confident team of 6 men launched Zostel- India’s First and largest Budget Backpacking hostels.
Travelling is all about sharing experiences and learn from each other. The friendly environment at dormitories made interaction between different travellers possible.
The Zostel gave the much-required change to India.
First Zostel
Via: TripAdvisor
Dhramaveer belonged to Jodhpur and had his parents support in the hospitality business as they belonged to the same. This was a safe bet that he played and they pitched the amount they had saved for it.
However, the money was not enough for their business expansion and decided to look for big investments for the expansion of Zostel to other parts of the country.
Funding
The potential graduates took part in business competitions that would give them a platform and investment. They went to different competitions held at IIT Bombay, Ivey School of Business, Canada and the B-Plan contest held at Wharton India Economic Forum.
Their efforts were acknowledged by a Malaysian based banker named Presha Paragash. He gave a seed investment of $1 million (5 crores)
Growth
In the past two years, Zostel has expanded itself to many cities like Jodhpur, Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur, and Varanasi. It is also aiming to reach Thailand and Sri Lanka in 2020. This was not the end, the rented apartments in metro cities were still falling out of budget for many students.
Via: Booking.com
Zo Rooms were hostels that helped students check-in very easily even at off-hours. People could use the simple mobile app and check in to the nearest Zostels. This was an easy and affordable option that Zostel came up within 2014.
Surely they have come a long way and created a history. This story has inspired many young minds to follow their hearts and live their dream because Dreams do come true!