: 3 Friends Went From Planning Trips at College To Earning Rs 7.5 Cr/Yr With Travel Brand #IndiaNEWS #Startup Mohammad Thaha Paloli, Jethin Krishna and Fazil became friends when they met during their

3 Friends Went From Planning Trips at College To Earning Rs 7.5 Cr/Yr With Travel Brand #IndiaNEWS #Startup
Mohammad Thaha Paloli, Jethin Krishna and Fazil became friends when they met during their engineering days in Calicut. Whenever they got a weekend break or could take a few days off from the hectic study schedule, the trio would plan treks and hikes in the city, inviting their batchmates to join in.

As a continuation of that thirst for adventure, the trio, now in their thirties, started their travel venture ‘Tentgram’ in 2017. They plan experiential stays, tent stays, and even budget-friendly trips to places across India.

When asked how a college idea translated into a full-blown venture, Thaha says it was always the plan to “take the road less travelled and create something of our own???.

Tentgram hosts camping trips to various locations across India, Picture credits: Thaha

A way of discovering inaccessible places

“We were always passionate about travel and would organise college trips for our juniors,??? recounts Thaha. “The trips we organised started becoming very popular for the sole reason that they were different from the regular college trips. ???

How?

“These trips provided them with ample time for experiences like camping, star-gazing, stream treks, and off-road hikes. Simply put, the trips were more personal and experiential,??? he adds.

Thus, the seeds for Tentgram were sown as the trio realised the potential for experiential travel. Once they started there was no stopping their dreams. And to add to this, on research, they discovered that there were very few experiential travel providers in India and almost none in South India at the time.

“We wanted to change the way people travelled,??? says Thaha, adding that the journey of setting up the venture was filled with possibilities and involved a lot of hard work.

The first step was to develop experiential products.

The Meghalaya trip organised by Tentgram involved a journey across the Assam Meghalaya border, Picture credits: Thaha

“We started by building a campsite where we could host travellers. We managed everything from building sustainable infrastructure within inaccessible hills and mountains to guiding the guests. Slowly, people began falling in love with this style of travel; the campsite grew. More experiential sites were added in the years to come,??? he says.

Jethin recounts how every trip they have hosted is another memory added to their list. For instance, a trip to Meghalaya during which there was news of violence along the Assam-Meghalaya border. It was suspected that people had been murdered in inter-tribe conflicts.

One of the girls who was on the trip recounts how even in the chaos and the uncertainty, the group started building new connections with each other.