Oyo CEO Ritesh Agarwal: ‘I still, sometimes, clean washrooms…’

Oyo founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal recently revealed that he continues to clean washrooms in his hotels as a way to set an example for his team. Speaking at the second edition of Mumbai Tech Week on March 1, Agarwal said, “I still, sometimes, clean washrooms as a role modeling exercise.”
According to a report by Moneycontrol, Agarwal emphasized the importance of humility and shedding pride to achieve entrepreneurial success. “As an entrepreneur on day one, you have to leave fear, embarrassment, pride, arrogance—everything—outside the room and enter, because these are the biggest enemies of entrepreneurial success,” he said.
Agarwal founded Oyo in 2013. The company has now grown to over 1 million rooms across 80 countries. The 29-year-old billionaire noted that traditional upbringing often does not teach people to let go of pride and embrace every task, regardless of hierarchy.
“You have to leave ‘sharam’ (embarrassment) and ‘ye kaam mera hai ye kaam dusre ka hai’ (this is my work, and that is yours). Are you looking to pride-seeking or are you looking to be wealth-seeking? I am very clear that I want to create a big impact,” Agarwal said when asked about his advice to budding entrepreneurs.
The Oyo founder recently visited the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Sharing his experience via a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) and Meta’s Instagram, Agarwal reflected on the significance of the event, often called the world’s largest gathering. He also shared a video while on a boat ride with his son, Ary, reminiscing about attending the Kumbh Mela over two decades ago.
He wrote “Standing at Mahakumbh with Ary for the first time, I was overwhelmed by a flood of memories from my own first visit. I remember feeling so small, yet part of something so much bigger. Today, I stood beside him, hoping he finds his own answers, his own faith, and his own path. This isn’t just a tradition; it’s a legacy. A legacy of belief, hope, and the courage to dream.”