Browsing through online travel websites for places that offered adventure, I was finally left with very few options. Later, a co-worker recommended Thrillophilia, a travel website that couples travel with adrenaline spiking experiences.
Chitra Dagas is the co-founder of adventure tours and travel company, named Thrillophilia Tours Pvt. Ltd. All the founders of Thrillophilia come from diverse backgrounds like B.Tech, Computer science, MBA, Marine force and one from Law. This diversity has helped them to come up with diverse thinking and quick solutions to problems. After much debate and thought, along with thorough research, the company was started in 2009. They have hired qualified adventure experts, trained professionals, and experienced staff, who were passionate to serve people. Some of the major activities that Chitra’s company covers include wildlife exploration, scuba diving, camel safari, paragliding, biking, caving and many more.
Thrillophilia runs a website, a blog, and a Twitter account. It is a strong brand in the market. The company is focusing ardently on the SEO services to make it much better. Chitra Gurnani’s company deals with authentic suppliers and the most thrilling activities in the interest of the travelers.
Chitra and her now-husband, Abhishek met in a school in Jaipur and have known each other for 16 years now. Chitra did her B Tech in IT from Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Technology in 2006, followed by brief stints at Infosys and SAP, India. All of the founders came from middle-class backgrounds and had a premonition that they wouldn’t be able to convince their parents about quitting jobs that paid decently in order to jump into a business. So they played part-time entrepreneurs, starting the venture only in June 2009, when they had drummed up a seed capital of Rs 5 lakh, partly from their personal savings and receiving some money from family and friends.
“Since we needed a steady income stream, we had to start working part-time on the venture, but as soon as we got positive feedback, we focused on it full-time,” says Chitra.
The money went into building the website and hiring two people, but it took them some time to figure out their target market. The duo started out by focusing on direct customers, offering them a number of options across the country through digital marketing. However, this was time-consuming and had a long gestation period for revenue generation. So they decided to turn to corporate clients and added outdoor activities as a part of team-building exercises. In November 2009, they landed their first big client, Wipro.
“We noticed a lacuna in the travel segment. There was space for a company that could offer discerning travelers a chance to go beyond the ordinary without having to spend a fortune. The idea was to experience something beyond the usual rules and ideas of sightseeing,” says Chitra.
