Two childhood friends, Rohan Verma and Shubhangi Pandey, co-founded JustWravel in 2016. The startup has transformed the landscape of group travel in India. The journey was started with an investment of ₹6 lakh, but the duo has propelled their startup to impressive heights, now generating over ₹12 crores in annual revenue. They have fostered a vibrant social travel community, engaging 50,000+ travelers across over 50 destinations. However, their remarkable success is the result of unwavering grit, determination, and innovative thinking.
Early Life and Background
👉Flashback to the founders’ school days in Lucknow.
They both were born in middle-class families and attended the same school during the 11th and 12th grades. They both shared a love for travel and their bond strengthened over a shared dream: To do something impactful for the Indian youth.
However, life had its own plans when Rohan Verma started with his engineering degree followed by an MBA at IMT Ghaziabad. Along the way, he founded a backpacking campsite business in Rishikesh.
Shubhangi Pandey, on the other hand, completed her engineering and MBA in HR from Welingkar Institute of Management.
Even after pursuing their studies and moving on with their lives, one thing that didn’t changed was their friendship.
Identifying the Market Gap
While working in the tourism industry, Rohan noticed that affordable and safe travel options are missing, mainly for young people and especially women and group travellers. This is what brought the business idea of JustWravel.
The Founding of JustWravel
In 2016, he shared the idea of a travel platform with Shubhangi, whose main focus was to be budget-friendly, fixed-departure tours.
His idea was to present a solution for adventurers and to build a community of like-minded people.
Since Shubhangi was equally interested in travel, she also saw potential in Rohan’s vision, and the duo put in their savings and left their corporate jobs to work on the startup.
Finally, in December 2016, JustWravel was registered.
Key Features:
- With a Fixed-Departure Group Tours you can pre-schedule trips to popular destinations: Baku, Bali, Ladakh, Spiti Valley, and Meghalaya, at your convenience and affordably.
- Each trip gives you Personalized Experiences as you get connected with a WhatsApp group for effortless communication.
- You get a dedicated trip captain who ensures that you feel fully supported throughout your adventure.
- You can choose from 50+ domestic and international destinations, and the list includes Middle-East, Southeast Asia, and Bhutan!
- With the company’s 24×7 on-call support, women, no need to worry about anything.
- Don’t worry, males can also get help, if required, stop sulking!
Challenges Along the Way
Just like every other bootstrapped startup, JustWravel faced its share of challenges during the early days. With no full-time employees and no external funding, it became hard to manage everything for the co-founders. They were playing multiple roles: from marketing to sales and to operations in a small workspace.
Another challenge, as expected, was to convince people to trust their new initiative. And in the Indian startup ecosystem, it was a more difficult task.
Focusing on One Thing
Their main focus was to create extraordinary travel experiences. In the beginning, they started with fixed-departure trips by enabling solo travelers to join pre-scheduled group tours.
These trips have been thoughtfully designed to prioritize affordability, safety, and distinctive experiences, specifically targeting young corporate professionals, millennials, and Gen Z.
Although initially, some trips experienced lower-than-anticipated enrollment. The team remained dedicated to clients and kept moving ahead.
How Things Work Out Smoothly?
As is obvious, travelers are skeptical about the trip and the group members. This affects their excitement, wavering their decision. To make things easier, the startup creates WhatsApp groups of related trips, to enable participants to connect and share preferences and expectations. This small step helped in breaking the ice. 🧊
Success Ahead: Eventually, by 2017, they had already served 1,000 travelers and earned a revenue of around Rs 40 lakhs.
Business Pattern
The startup’s approach was innovative, which made it attractive. Each tour was crafted to encourage connections among travelers. This resulted in a significant number of repeat customers.
Moreover, their pricing was another aspect that went well with the audience.
- Domestic trips: Rs 6,500
- International packages: Rs 32,000
This level of affordability offered by JustWravel made it the preferred choice for young professionals seeking adventure without overspending.
The Pandemic 😷 and A New Business Approach
When, in 2020, the pandemic hit, the travel industry was one of the most badly affected. Similarly, JustWravel also lost all its revenue and customers overnight.
Seems like a nightmare for a startup.
But JustWravel, was not ready to shut off the business. Instead, they started working out a new approach for the business.
New Approach: To introduce long-duration stays for remote workers. 💻
It was a game changer during those times as it strengthened the company’s tech structure.
Furthermore, they virtually kept in contact with their customers and planned their future trips. No matter how unsure, we all were expecting for the best. Fingers Crossed. In 2021, things started returning to normal, and the travel industry was back on. And JustWravel was also ready to bounce back—Stronger.
Did They Succeed?
Obviously, they DID!
Its annual revenue kept growing from Rs 40 lakh in 2017 to Rs 12 crore in 2024 and next the company aims to achieve Rs 28 crore in FY25.
Moreover, this year the founders plan to expand their destination portfolio from 50 to 150. Also, to integrate AI for customized travel planning and increase their B2B partnerships in corporate world.
With its growing success, JustWravel has become a trusted name, and in the first quarter of 2025, it won the Best Adventure Tour Operator Award from the Economic Times. Recently, the startup entered into the corporate travel industry and attracted reputable clients like Shiv Nadar Foundation and Jawa & Yezdi Bikes.
With a dedicated community of over 50,000 satisfied travelers, a solid business model, and a bold vision for growth, this bootstrapped startup is poised to revolutionize travel in India.
Book your trip @JustWravel / Follow their journey @JustWravel
