Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal has now credited Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for helping him shape his approach and business strategy. Agarwal revealed the one quote by Bezos which inspired him, ‘Hope is not a plan’. In a recent interview post shared by Agarwal on his Instagram handle, he emphasised that structured planning and risk assessment play a key role over blind optimism. He mentioned that this mindset has guided him in Oyo’s journey from a small startup to a global hospitality brand. “Inspired by Jeff Bezos, who says ‘hope is not a plan.’ Many people believe that if we keep working hard, things will happen. But nothing happens on its own. You have to plan for it,” Agarwal said, urging entrepreneurs to anticipate challenges and map out actionable paths to success.
Planning over optimism
Agarwal further elaborated on his philosophy and encouraged the business leaders to identify multiple scenarios such as five ways to succeeds, three things that could go wrong and two things that might go right. Agarwal believes that this kind of planned and structured thinking is really important for navigating through uncertainty and also helps in scaling sustainability. The Instagram post shared by Agarwal echoes the same sentiment and reinforces that hope can spark ambition, only planning builds the engine that drives results.
A mindset that built OYO
For those unaware, under the leadership of Agarwal, Oyo has grown into one of the world’s largest hotel chains which now operates in more than 80 countries. Agarwal also emphasises on strategic execution and adaptability has helped the company weather industry disruptions and expand its tech-driven hospitality model.
