From being a cancer survivor, Kanika Tekriwal has emerged as the face of India’s aviation industry. Being the founder of JetSetGo, which is India’s first aircraft aggregator, she revolutionized private aviation. Also, she made luxury air travel accessible and efficient. Her story is an inspiration of sheer determination and changing tough obstacles into powerful motivators for success.
A Marwari Upbringing and Early Life
Kanika Tekriwal was born in Bhopal into a traditional Marwari family. In most business propensities, Marwari families have developed an innate sense of independence. It is a quality that shaped Kanika’s determination. However, cultural expectations often discouraged women from making bold strides in a male-dominated industry such as aviation. Kanika also faced such expectations and norms.
She attended the Lawrence School in Lovedale, where self-reliance is strongly and effectively built and leadership is encouraged. After this, she received her education at Jawaharlal Nehru Senior Secondary School in Bhopal and earned a management degree at Coventry University in the UK. The type of academic environments she has been exposed to, such as Lawrence School and Coventry, made her think beyond traditional boundaries.
These early influences and experiences prepared Kanika for the upcoming hurdles in her life. By the time she returned to India, she was adept at making plans and applying skills and vision in an unconventional way that paved the way for her path-breaking contribution to the aviation world.
A Life-Altering Challenge: Battling Cancer
At the age of 22, Kanika Tekriwal received a devastating diagnosis: cancer. It proved a huge shock to her, which tested her btoh physically and emotionally. Instead of going down the drain, she found strength in the ordeal. Battling cancer was not only a matter of survival but a deeply reflective time where she intensified her will to live life on her terms and never be afraid to chase after her dreams.
This fight with cancer made her stronger and more motivated to get into an extremely competitive field where she would have the most impact. After battling this life-altering obstacle, she came out with a newfound purpose. Kanika’s experience of fighting cancer became a precipitating factor, which encouraged her to enter the man-dominated world of aircraft and mark her expertise.
The Birth of JetSetGo: India’s First Private Jet Aggregator
In 2013, the entrepreneur Kanika Tekriwal, started JetSetGo. This company was the country’s first private jet aggregator with minimal investments. She made chartered flights more accessible and hassle-free, much like ‘app-based taxi services’.
Though there were many monetary constraints and societal pressures at its inception, Kanika worked her way through, designing an innovative platform where charter flights could be easily booked.
JetSetGo was one of the fastest-growing companies in the market, providing services to corporations, celebrities, and politicians within a short period. Kanika’s aggregator model revolutionized managing private aviation. She sustained and developed the business by reinvesting client advances and credit from vendors, reflecting a sharp entrepreneurial acumen and zeal.
Soaring Success: JetSetGo’s Milestones and Impact
Kanika has taken JetSetGo to the best possible milestones during her term. Today, it manages India’s largest private fleet of jets and helicopters. She owns a market share of 20% in that segment. Also, the company has clocked more than 6,000 flights in which they have flown almost one lac passengers. They set a new benchmark for luxury air travel in India.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, JetSetGo remained steadfast, refusing to lay off employees or reduce salaries. That was a true test of Kanika’s commitment to her team. The focus on the customer and the employee has won JetSetGo an outstanding client satisfaction score of 98.2%, making it one of the market leaders in private aviation.
Recognition and Accolades: The Rise of “The Sky Queen”
The staff and employees of Indus Air salute her as “The Sky Queen.” Recently, the Indian government awarded her with the National Entrepreneurship Award. Also, she was recently named as Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. Besides that, she is included in Hurun Rich List of the richest self-made women in India.
No surprise this achievement did not go unnoticed by those in Entrepreneur magazine and other premier global media outlets, such as Forbes and the BBC. Such attention speaks to just how massive Kanika’s influence is in the world of aviation, as well as her inspiring journey along the entrepreneurial pathfinder way.
Looking Forward: Kanika’s Vision for the Future of Aviation
With her forward-looking vision, Kanika Tekriwal continues to break new ground in the private aviation space. Through JetSetGo, she is leading innovative solutions in urban mobility, focusing on electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Thus, this ambitious project makes JetSetGo the pioneer in this new urban air mobility market, where short-distance air travel will be consequential.
Her key objective is transforming JetSetGo into an archaic avatar of sustainable and efficient air travel solutions. In doing so, she identifies herself as innovative, which makes her stay ahead of the game in the aviation business.She isn’t just building up an influential legacy in business but also enacting as a role model for many aspirants in different corners of the world. She proves that resilience and innovation are two key ingredients of achieving success.
