Travelling companion

MY BIG IDEA

Rahul Nath

Rahul Nath, a commerce graduate from St Xavier's College, Kolkata, with a management degree from the University of Illinois, US, decided to start his own travel company instead of working as a professional as his father wanted him to.

Today his company Friends Globe Travels (FGTL) is worth Rs 400 crore and Nath has entered into a joint venture with Australia's Flight Centre, one of the world's leading travel companies. The JV entity FCM Travel Solutions has suddenly opened a world of opportunities for Nath.

TURNING PASSION INTO PROFESSION
I am absolutely passionate about travelling and I travelled quite a bit when I was studying and working in the US. During my tours, whenever I faced any kind of problem, I used to tell myself that if I start a travel company I would service my clients in such a way that they don't face anything similar.

Since nobody in my family had ever done business, my father was horrified when I told him that I want to start a travel company. He said that my studies in the US and his funding had all gone to waste. Nevertheless, in 1986 I started a small travel company in Delhi and put in Rs 3 lakh "" all that I had saved in the US.

A SMALL BEGINNING
In 1987, I selected a team of two people, Naren Nautiyal (director-operations) and H S Walia (director-finance), with myself as the third employee. I worked full-time, from ticketing to taking calls to making bookings to marketing and strategising.

I thought corporate travel was one area which needed good travel companies to do the entire packaging for companies that were organising meetings, annual get-togethers etc. I also felt that there were not too many companies dealing with corporate travel and so that was a better space.

INITIAL HICCUPS
It was when I actually started selling travel plans and concepts that I realised what the business school taught me was only helpful to run an already successful outfit.

It never told me how to face the failures and how to start new ventures. So, I started work on all areas simultaneously. Whenever I got time, I worked at the front desk, and whenever I got the time, I went to the field. This helped me to understand the traits of the travel industry.

KEEP IT SIMPLE
When I got into corporate travel, lots of people discouraged me saying retail travel was a bigger market. I thought the retail business would never give us core competence as there are too many players.

Anyway, to diversify, I started with two parallel businesses - travel agent and tour operator - but that involved dividing my attention. I closed down the tour division.

Today, we have kept a streamlined business but take care of the entire needs of a corporate client. Some of our clients include HCL, HP, Reuters and Pfizer. I realised one can focus on one's business when one keeps it simple.

GETTING BIGGER IN SIZE
After I felt FGTL acquired a critical mass I entered into a strategic 51:49 joint venture with Flight Centre, an Australia-based $5 billion travel giant, early this year. Flight Centre has a majority stake and the JV company is called FCM Travel Solutions.

The idea behind the JV is to go global and compete with multinational travel companies operating in India. Flight Centre employs over 7,400 staff around the world.

With offices in 16 locations, we plan to get into 28 locations by the end of the current financial year. My friends say I will be reduced to a manager and will be left with no decision-making powers after the tie-up, but as long as I am passionate about my work I don't care. My aim is to serve as many people as I can.