Her dream-filled universe stood on the cusp of collapse when she had an unsolicited tryst with cancer at the age of 22. Eight months later, Kanika Tekriwal not only conquered the disease, but also set up a Delhi-based aviation startup, JetSetGo, India’s first marketplace for private jets and chartered helicopters that is redefining the country’s chartered air travel industry.
Now 33, she owns 10 private jets and has featured in the Kotak Private Banking-Hurun Leading Wealthy Women list, 2021 as India’s youngest self-made woman entrepreneur with a net worth pegged at Rs 420 crore.
Launched in 2012, JetSetGo, described as ‘the Uber of the Indian skies’, manages and operates India’s largest private jet and helicopter fleets, comprising the 18-seater Global 6000 and the six-seater Cessna Citation CJ2, and also manages aircraft owned by high net-worth individuals in the Middle East.
If Kanika’s burgeoning career is strewn with accomplishments, it is also scarred with daunting challenges, a real brush with mortality, and gender biases, and she recollects all of them vividly.
“We’re very sorry, but… It appears you have cancer,” said the doctor, and Kanika, who had just earned her MBA degree from Coventry University, London, was shocked into disbelief.
“In a few minutes, my life was completely turned around; everything felt so surreal. All I could think about was the years of my life and the goals to achieve.” But over the next two days, she pondered over the diagnosis and resolved to defeat cancer.
“I won’t let a few cells get the better of me. Fighting was my only option. I strongly believe in the power of the mind. And that’s how cancer inspired JetSetGo’s manifestation,” says the celebrated entrepreneur, who was chosen as one of the 100 most inspirational women in the world by BBC, and was recognised by Forbes Asia as one of the 30 under 30 leading entrepreneurs in Asia.
In her entrepreneurial journey, conquering cancer was not the only challenge. Gender discrimination was also a daunting handicap.
“Traditionally dominated by men, the aviation sector is not an easy place to break into. I was advised to set up a bakery or take up a cloth-making business. I was also told to rethink my decision of venturing into the aviation space as it would be difficult to continue once I got married and had kids.”
Recalling an incident, Kanika, who is married to a Hyderabadi businessman, says the
intensity of the corporate world’s glass ceiling first hit her when she was in a boardroom filled with over a hundred men. “I was the only woman in the room.
I realised that to feel intimidated would be an injustice to myself and other women whose dreams were waiting to be turned into reality.
When I spoke, the men did feel intimidated. However, there are daily challenges of the market, and competition is fierce, but JetSetGo is fiercer!”
Surprisingly, she forayed into the aviation sector with a paltry investment of Rs 5,600 and without an aircraft of her own. She built an app to book chartered flights. The first two years were tough but she cushioned the problem by taking an advance from clients and credit from vendors.
A cloud-based, customer-centric enterprise, JetSetGo has now grown into a Rs 250-crore company, managing 30 aircraft, ten of them owned by Kanika herself. It provides its customers choice, transparent pricing system and flexible booking on both web and mobile platforms.
Kanika’s vision is to democratise air travel by making private flying more accessible for
those who greatly value time and convenience. She also has a message for wannabe women entrepreneurs.
“They need to know that brilliant businesses were not built on money but on great ideas. They need not accept the status quo. People will say a lot of things — ignore the noise. Performance is the only thing that matters,” she believes.