In 2000, Deep Kalra had two plans — build an online travel company or an online stockbroking firm.
His thesis was simple: whatever’s being done on the phone will move to the internet fast.
Back then, you never met your travel agent — you spoke to them on the phone, they faxed options, and you handed over a cheque. The same with your stockbroker — you’d only meet him at Diwali when he dropped off a box of sweets.
That was the spark for MakeMyTrip.
The first cheque came from Neeraj Bhargava — signed on a paper napkin at a café in Mumbai’s Crossroads Mall.
In this episode of The Blume Podcast, Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow sit down with Karthik Reddy to look back at the early internet days — and how a napkin deal became a ₹60,000 crore story.
🎧 Watch the full episode now — the origin story of India’s OG internet company.