Kanika Tekriwal was named the youngest self-made entrepreneur in India by the Kotak Private Banking Hurun Leading Wealthy Women List 2021 recently, with a wealth of Rs 420 crore at the age of just 33. Tekriwal, the CEO and founder of JetSetGo, a plane aggregator startup, is a worthy example for young entrepreneurs who want to start early, and her success proves the perks of launching one’s career at a young age.
“Kanika Tekriwal (33) of JetSetGo is the youngest) and wealthiest woman in India),” the Kotak Private Banking Hurun List said on Wednesday. Kanika Tekriwal was born in a Marwari family in Bhopal, and is an alumna of Jawaharlal Nehru School, which is on the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) campus in the capital city of Madhya Pradesh.
Kanika Tekriwal’s journey to start JetSetGo cannot be called smooth. Not only did Tekriwal battle casual sexism and the conservative views of her family, she also won over cancer to establish the first marketplace for private jets and helicopter charters in India. “I had the idea brewing in my head for close to three years or so, but when I took out my sketch board and started working on it, I was diagnosed with cancer, which set me back by a year,” she said.
An MBA graduate, Tekriwal co-founded JetSetGo with her friend Sudheer Perla back in 2012. Today, the company has come to own 10 private jets. Tekriwal’s plane aggregator startup manages, flies, and operates chartered planes and helicopters for the owners.
JetSetGo, often called as the Uber of Indian skies, was started by Tekriwal when she identified the issues in the private aviation industry and vowed to fix them. The young entrepreneur adds that what gave her the edge was no one had come up with a unique approach like her till she finished her cancer treatment. Her aim is to ‘democratise’ air travel, she said earlier.
Tekriwal, who married a Hyderabad businessman this year, does not plan to stop at India with 10 private jets. Her company is planning to import four more planes through the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in 2022-23, as per a report by moneycontrol.com. “Thanks to the tax holiday in Gift City, it makes sense for us to lease planes from there. Two of our 10 planes have been leased from there and we plan to get 10-20 more via that route. We also plan to get our clients in the Middle East to lease planes from Gift City,” she told the media organisation.
JetSetGo also manages aircraft owned by High Net-worth Individuals at in the Middle East. The company’s fleet ranges from the 18-seater Global 6000 to the six-seater Cessna Citation CJ2.
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