With the motto of ‘‘Redefining Mobility for Billions’’, OlaCabs serves millions of people on a daily basis. This is the story of the evolution of an iconic Indian startup, from being an idea in the heads of two bachelors to having more than 1.5 million trips daily.

Beginning and aim

OLA Trips was initially founded by Bhavish Agrrawal and Ankit Bhat, alumni from IIT Bombay as an online holiday & tour planning service for travelers. It was only when Bhavish had a horrible cab experience, wherein he was stranded in the middle of the road, that he decided to enter the cab aggregating business in 2010.
Because of getting the first mover advantage in the field, OlaCabs grew exponentially in the coming decade and today works on its aim to provide mobility to a billion people.

Business Model

Olacabs works on a relatively straightforward business model where it acts as a cab aggregator connecting the drivers to customers.
Over the years, the business model has evolved from being a call-to-book service to an application based service, embracing the digital ecosystem along the way.
Drivers are incentivized and given priority on the basis of customer reviews. Safety and convenience are two key factors that keep customers hooked to the service.

Revenue streams

Ola charges a commission of 10-20% on the total fare of the trip.Along with this, the algorithm works on a ‘surge pricing model’ wherein the fare fluctuates depending on the demand and availability at the particular region.
Ola Select is a subscription based service that offers perks like priority bookings and free wifi to its customers.

Marketing

Ola employed several marketing schemes to attract as many cab drivers and customers as possible.
They offered micro entrepreneurship for the drivers by helping the drivers buy their own cars at huge discounts and affordable repayment schemes as they collaborated with leading car manufacturers.
Customers initially were also offered quite a few incentives in the form of heavily discounted trip fare; at times even free rides were offered. Thus making the customers used to booking a cab through their phones.

Future Plans

Ola has an ambitious plan to dominate the emerging Electronic Vehicle sector. It has already launched electric scooters with great success. The company has invested heavily to build three mega factories and has promised to launch an electric car by the end of 2024.

Conclusion

Ola has not just impacted the routine and lifestyle of commuters but has also helped catalyze the Indian startup culture. Bhavish’s advice to younger founders: “Go out and start up. It is the hardest thing to do. For me it was very hard. When I started, my parents thought I was going to become a travel agent. It was very hard to convince them that I was not.”
Ola Cabs has combined to offer the best automobile riding experience throughout India and is growing its operations in other nations as part of its objective to energize the global transportation system.

---