SEPTEMBER 201619Offerings: International Holidays ­ Destination Turkey, Destination Vietnam, Destination Mauritius, Destination Dubai, Destination Thailand and Destination Singapore Incredible India Vacations ­ Destination Uttaranchal, The Golden Triangle of India, Destination Kerala, and Destination Rajasthan Clients: ASHOKABuildcon, Globelink WW, TUV NORD, APPL Industries, EOS Cinemas, Cogitass, , Advance Scientific Equipment and several othersEvery trip at DG is tailor-made to bring the finest details around client's tastes and interestsalways be at the technology forefront to enhance its products and services helps DG meet the requirements of the current and future markets. All Inclusive FITDG's FIT (Foreign Independent Tours) department is managed by travel professionals with extensive experience in the industry who are specialists in formulating tailor-made itineraries for discerning travellers looking for authentic experiences around the world. Apart from meticulously devising tours to suit the needs of precious customers of its trade partners, DG participates in the end-to-end implementation of these itineraries at all levels to ensure a high quality service. The Odyssey The globetrotter Vivek's fling with en-trepreneurship began out of the burning desire to be the master of his own for-tune and be like his grandfather, a suc-cessful entrepreneur. Starting the career as a travel consultant in 2004, Vivek worked for various companies that helped him gain valuable insight about the industry. Four years later he went to Oxford to pursue a Master's degree in International Tourism Management but struggled to find better opportunities in the UK travel industry and faced rejec-tions from everywhere, which forced him to change his domain for survival. "Despite giving several thoughts to start my own travel agency, I could not move forward in that direction. But when I finally took the leap, I received uncon-ditional support from my wife who has always backed my idea of becoming an entrepreneur," reminisces Vivek. Finance being the biggest stum-bling block, Vivek leveraged his ex-isting customers from his personal network to arrange a line of credit to start his company with bare minimum finance. Eliminating the hideous task of finding the right team members, today DG has members who are trustworthy, hard-working and passionate about their work. Constant communication is maintained amongst all team members for product and price information and regulatory changes. There are frequent team meetings where everyone is giv-en a chance to express their concerns and exchange ideas for the betterment of company performance. "I realized that the road to entrepreneurship is filled with twist, turns and dead ends, but with our passion and persistence, we are able to navigate through these with some success and satisfaction," quotes Vivek. This is why the company has been able to achieve sales of Rs.15 million in last quarter of FY 2015-16, thereby gaining 18 percent over the figures of FY 2014-15. Overall, DG registered a growth of more than 24 percent in an-nual sales as compared to FY 2014-15. The first quarter of FY 2016-17 started on a good note due to numerous referrals from its satisfied customers that helped the company attain the target it set for the said period. En Route to FutureUnderstanding that people spend a great deal of time at their workplace, DG has created a fun milieu to keep them stress-free, which ultimately passes-on to the customers in the form of great and happy vacations. "If you have a good experience as an employee, chances are you are more likely to create a good experience for your customers," says Vivek. With an aim to be involved in all aspects of a traveller's cycle, this bootstrapped startup is learning from collective customer behaviour to deliver intelligent suggestions and recommendations to enhance their travel experience. Keeping up with the millennial generation of travellers' focus on mobiles, it will soon bring its mobile app to engage them. It has already done the soft launch of its travel services platform Yatrapartners.com which brings together social network and travel. DG plans to expand its operations, starting with an increased focus on ancillary services such as Visa assistance, travel insurance, forex and others. It also plans to open more profit centers in tier two and three cities within Maharashtra. Talking about the funding, Vivek says, "Although we have some offers at hand, we are not just after the money but are looking for a reputable and experienced investor with whose insights and contacts, we can make the foundation of our business stronger and achieve sustained growth. We seek fair and responsible profit enough to keep us financially healthy and fairly reward our team for the hard work they put in".
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