Deep Kalra, 38, IIM-A

Like in the case of most entrepreneurs, Deep was troubled by the lack of a sense of personal achievement in corporate jobs—he was always spotting new, unexplored opportunities. In 2000, he was bitten by the internet bug like a million others. But the timing was wrong for fund-raising. The dotcom bubble burst the next year. So, Deep had two options: start a stockbroking firm that tapped his finance training atIIM and his experience with finance firms, or pursue something in travel, his real passion. Broking was rejected: he felt most successful stockbroking houses in India were backed by big business houses. Hence, makemytrip.com. But travel too was not a happening sector at that time, especially using the internet as a medium to woo clients. So he focused onNRIs.

The real thrust came with the success of IRCTC, which enables booking of rail tickets on the net. More importantly, IRCTC charged a premium for bookings, and over 60 per cent of the bookings were for non-air conditioned classes, indicating that it was attracting the masses. This was enough proof that an online travel portal can attract enough eyeballs, as well as become profitable. He switched to the Indian market in 2004, when the entry of low-cost airlines got people to book tickets on the net. The rest, as is said, is history and makemytrip.com has become one of the largest travel companies with a sales turnover of Rs 550 crore in 2006-07 and a target of Rs 1,200 crore for the current fiscal.