He is one of the most deserving occupants of the ‘successful start-up club’, who over the years has not just made a mark with his achievements but has also been able to retain meaningful relationships with his partners, who are also his closest friends. Amit Kishore, Co-founder & Director, Eastbound Group, is a young entrepreneur, with principles, who believes that the only way you can ‘outdo’ competition is by performing even better and doing things “differently”. Here is more on his journey in a BOTT exclusive Fab 40s.
Priyanka Saxena Ray
Born into a family that was inspiringly ambitious and dauntingly scholarly, Amit, in hindsight, sees it as an elite blessing. “My grandfather Rai Bahadur Ram Kishore, was a leading lawyer and one of the longest serving Vice Chancellors of Delhi University (my alma mater). He was a philanthropist and had set up many religious and charitable institutions that were later run by my father and now by me. My mother was a respected journalist with the Times Group with a mind that was as sharp and unshakeable as her soft and compassionate heart. Ours was a large family and I grew up around a lot of cousins which helped me develop skills that I couldn’t put on resumes but certainly equipped me for the world,” he reminisces.
While he was always drawn to the travel industry, he didn’t really think that the field would become the core of his life. “Mark Twain says the two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why. After I graduated from Delhi University, I landed an opportunity with a boutique travel company and, on a whim, took my first steps into the travel sector. The stint lasted only six months but it was enough for my tryst with destiny. I saw the opportunity that existed and knew the gap had to be filled,” he shares.
Sharing details on the formation of Eastbound, which was set up in 2006, he clarifies that the initial focus of the company was solely on high end experiential travel in the inbound sector leisure. However, when in 2008, the travel industry took a heavy blow with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, they quickly diversified and began focusing on other segments including education trips, etc. In a short span of time, the company moved aggressively towards becoming the leading specialist for handling non-educational logistics of some of the most prominent Ivy League business schools like Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, among others. This development turned out to be the cornerstone of their upward growth trajectory.
“In 2009 we acquired BTS (Business Travel Services), focusing at the French speaking travel markets. In 2011, we set up a representations business focussing on international tourism boards and products. In 2012, CHIME kicked off to address the growing MICE market and tap the luxury weddings segment. In 2018, with 2HUB, we entered the B2B distribution business as aggregators of hotel inventory and other tourism products particularly for tier II and III markets in India. The same year we also launched Eastbound Discoveries and, in 2019, acquired Distinct Destinations to expand our market share in destination management,” Amit elaborates.
Over the years, many new clients have entered the representation, PR and marketing arena. So does the competition worries him? “When Prrithvi, Manish and I started the organisation we decided we will run our own race. We’ve never looked at competition and said “we’re going to do it better”, we’ve said “we’re going to do it differently”. You might not be able to out-think, out-market or outspend your competition, but you can outwork them. We’ve charted our own path, and carved our niche. In all humility when you’re really good at what you do, no-one is competition. No one,” he explains.
Back in 2006, when Eastbound was established, there were either large MNCs that dominated the market or much smaller owner driven enterprises. While the former was bereft of a personal touch, the latter lacked the structure of a professionally run organization needed in order to scale. The entrepreneur in him realised that while a cookie cutter approach may get them quantities but it will lack detailing and they will never retain such business. Thus, they decided to put their energies in not just acquiring clients but also servicing existing clients in such a personalised way that they become their custodians for he firmly believes that the most important thing one can earn is trust. “Once you have a certain relationship capital, it acts as the gold standard of one’s credibility. Our clients have continued to trust us over our competitors year after year and that’s the only proof of the pudding that matters,” he shares, adding, “Destination management, tourism representation, corporate, leisure and educational travel along with our B2B distribution network have acted as our pillars of growth enabling partnerships with several marquee players of the industry. Not only do we have a strong foundation but we have industry coverage in almost all areas. Our focus is now on digital transformation and using technology to expedite our next phase of growth. We are aiming to be a $100 mn company in the mid-term which shall be achieved through organic growth and acquisitions.”
Married and father to two beautiful children – Suhani and Arjun, Amit loves to spend most of his free time reading and playing tennis and tries his best to spend quality time with family. “I am passionate about driving and Vishakha and I have a shared interest for driving along scenic routes. We’ve done most of the Shivalik and Dhauladhar range in northern India, Great Ocean Road in Australia, Swiss Alps, Autobahn in Germany, Lake District and the Scottish Highlands in the UK and the Pacific Rim in California. Next on the bucket list is India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway. I would also like to mention that my partners, Prrithviraj Singh and Manish Pratik are my strengths and sounding boards. I credit my success to the fact that I walked my journey with such brilliant individuals as partners who continue to be my closest friends, even after 20 years,” he concludes.
