That’s how MakeMyTrip opened one of its toughest quarterly earnings calls.
Deep Kalra even joked, “This should be called a lack-of-earnings call.”
Because during Covid, the entire world of travel had collapsed.
One investor even asked, “Where did the remaining 4% come from?”
The answer: emergency hotel stays during the national lockdown — isolation bays, stranded passengers, essential movement.
But the real challenge wasn’t survival.
It was motivation. Their best talent was highly fungible — and in a moment when every tech company was on fire, people were getting poached left and right. Keeping the team together became the battle.
Deep’s message to founders is simple and timeless:
“Nothing lasts forever. Neither the good times nor the bad ones. Hang in there. Things change — but you have to still be standing.”
In this episode of The Blume Podcast, Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow join Karthik Reddy to share what leading through a 96% drop really takes.
🎧 Watch the full episode now — a masterclass in resilience and leadership under fire.