Founder’s Journey

I was born in Shimla.

The mountains didn’t just raise me—they shaped me. The crisp air, the winding roads, and the silence of the pines taught me one thing early: life is not a straight road. It's a climb.

School at Hainault and Laureate Public School gave me structure. But the hills gave me something more—curiosity. I studied Tourism from IGNOU because I knew, deep down, my soul wasn’t built to live inside four walls.

It was meant for roads, for unknown destinations, for the thrill of the journey.

After tourism, the world pushed me toward an MBA. So I tried.

But the pressure swallowed me whole. I had to drop out—not because I was weak, but because I was breaking. It took me a while to heal, but I did go back and complete my MBA.

And somewhere in that messy journey, I found love.

I got married to a woman who understood me—or so I thought. For a while, life felt like it was finally on track. We were building a home, a future, a dream.

But life is unpredictable.

Misunderstandings grew like shadows. We tried. We really did. But some distances can’t be bridged with effort alone. We drifted. We fought. We grieved.

And then, we let go.

We got divorced. She moved on. I stayed behind—with a broken home, a business that was crumbling, and a mirror that showed me a stranger I didn’t recognize.

I was alone. Really alone. And for the first time, I understood: you can be in a crowded room and still feel completely empty.

I poured myself into work.

Hospitality became my escape. I started from the bottom—Sales, F&B, Operations—and fought my way up to General Manager. I built my own brands too: Start Your Travel Adventure, Skynwinds, Secret Places.

For a few years, it worked. I was finally building something of my own. I felt seen.

Then 2020 hit.

The pandemic didn’t just pause the world—it erased mine. No bookings. No income. Loans. EMI. Bankruptcy.

I lost everything. The office. The team. The brands I had built with my own hands. I sat in an empty room, staring at the ceiling, wondering—was it all for nothing?

That was the second time I hit rock bottom.

The first was heartbreak. The second was losing my purpose.

When travel started to stir again, I had two choices:

• Take a safe job. Play small. Stay invisible.
• Or build again—with scars, with wisdom, with a new rule.

I chose to build.

But this time, I knew something I didn’t before: Service first. Branding later.

In 10+ years of travel, I saw it clearly—
Platforms sell tickets. Agencies sell packages.
But nobody was selling connection.

In 2024, I started Xploroo under Secret Ventures.

The idea? Simple.

Travel shouldn’t feel lonely.

Crew chat before you fly. Creator-led trips. Real people. Real experiences.
Not just a trip—a tribe.

xploroo is live. And xploroo World is coming soon.

I’ve been the guy who lost love.
I’ve been the guy who lost his business.
I know what it’s like to be in a beautiful place and still feel completely invisible.

That’s why at Xploroo, we obsess over the small things:

• The welcome that feels like a hug.
• The dinner where no one sits alone.
• The crew who remembers your name—not because they have to, but because they care.

I don’t believe in shortcuts. I don’t believe in hype.

I believe in quality, patience, and showing up every single day—even when no one is clapping.

The Vision? To make Xploroo the most loved travel brand in India.
Not the loudest. Not the biggest.

The most trusted.