So let’s talk about “The Beginning”
2011: a small room in the company provided guest house. A gang of 6 old friends are drinking together and they get swayed by emotions. Yes! Bikat Adventures is another drunk discussion idea! Was that a spoiler? If yes, great because the story after that is much more interesting. The six friends having a common hobby of exploring the mountains found themselves in a fix within six months of coining the idea. We had just organized our first tour where we did not receive even a single booking! It looked like it will be over, just like those 80% ideas that fail very fast after inception. 2 of them did opt out completely. The remaining four were feeling like injured tigers now. Some of them felt humiliated and some irritated with the failure. Moreover, when they saw all the boring people around in their glass offices, their agony grew. However, the fact that we were not doing any demand forecasting to cast the idea, was their strength (something they realized much later in life). Bikat attitude had come to their rescue. The same Himalayan Mountains that had crushed our spirits, boosted it once again. One trek together and we were back. A new vision, a new set of values, new website and bang! We were up and running. Gradually, our friends, then their friends, and then acquaintances, and even strangers started trusting the brand. We also did our bit of experimentation and finalized the Bikat way of exploring the mountains. Three key words emerged of this grill that continued for 2 years – Adventure, Endurance, and Learning. 5 years have passed since then but the values defined are intact.
Million Dollar question – What the hell this “Bikat” means?
For all those biking enthusiasts, this may be a heart break. It is not a short cut for ‘Bike – at’. The word derives its origin from Awadhi & Braj dialects of Hindi language. “Bikat” is a Hindi word used colloquially to refer to something dangerous, grand, and raw.
How are We Different?
We have nothing in common with any company in India but I will talk about three key aspects: 1. Vision - We are the first company to have created a vision for 360* adventure travel.
We will bring all endurance based adventurous activities people undertake in the world to India. At the same time, we will explore all pristine destinations of India and open them for the worldWe would then approach global adventure travel with a unique & successful adventure travel model from India 2. Values – Adventure, Endurance and learning. The three values are key to our success and there is no other company or organization devoted to this combination. The fact that we have kept ourselves away from activities like Bungee Jumping, tours like Triund & Valley of flowers, etc. hurts our financials. But it would hurt our spirits if we do them. 3. Style – Our style is focused on creating reflective experience for our participants. Again we do things which do not make sense (economically) to ensure this. Limit groups to 15, ensure 1: 6 or 8 as the leader: participant ratio, invest heavily in the profile of our leaders, give the leaders a sustainable & glorious long term career (unlike many who would limit it to 2 years), not using fixed camps, etc. are few of the many steps in this direction. Others might be making more profits and giving a more comfortable experience but we are not targeting either of the two.
Our Promise
We will continue to deliver learning based adventurous experiences to our participants by taking them out of their comfort zone and encouraging individual reflections. In line of our vision, we have demonstrated immense growth in the past three years – consistent 200% YOY. Let us showcase a few key aspects to explain:
Regions - From only Uttarakhand & Himachal to 6 states in India (J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka). Our first cycling trip will start soon in Arunachal along with our first few hikes for Karnataka.Itineraries – From 5 to 35 across 7 states and involving 4 activities. We make sure to add at least 1 every month. We are constantly investing in recce and exploration. Our photographers, writers, and leaders are always on the hunt!Numbers – from 10 in a month to 300 in a month. Our diverse portfolio ensures that these 3600 for an year are not concentrated on 10 routes which exposes those trails to 800 people by one organization.Team – From 5 to 25. All of them are equally mad for Bikat values and keep fighting every day to make sure that the madness continues!
Meet the Team
Our team has grown significantly now. We might miss the latest member here but let’s begin the list: 1. The Original Criminals –
Ritvij – Leading Finance, Brand positioning, Customer Engagement & Content marketing directly, Ritvij is a certified mountaineer, trained sky diver, and an experienced trekker & cyclist himself. He post graduated from TISS and has a 4 year corporate experience in Nestle along with a couple of years in TCS.Sushant – Leading Sales, Sushant is a post graduate engineer from IIT Kanpur. He worked for 4.5 years at Hero moto corp’s research division before committing himself to Bikat Adventures. A certified mountaineer, skier, experienced trekker & cyclist, he has a keen interest in Yoga & meditation. Girish – Leading social media marketing, advertisements, and technology at Bikat, Girish is a certified kayaker, experienced trekker & cyclist himself. After completing his MBA from IIT Roorkee, he worked with BHEL for 5 years before committing to Bikat. Pankaj – Leading Operations, Pankaj is a seasoned operations professional. Having more than 8 years of experience in the Automobile & Medical equipment industry, he has worked on all aspects of Operations. A certified Kayaker & a licensed pilot by qualification, he is also an avid trekker & cyclist himself. 2. Next Ones to have joined the journey – Marketing (Content & Social)
Cambria Sawyer – Leading Content Marketing. Ayush – Official PhotographerGaurav – EditorKiritika – Content writerSarthak – Exploration & Technical DocumentationNeelam Rawat – Social Media & Contests Operations
Wakeel Ahmed – Leading Quality & Feedback. Sandeep – Operations ManagerGulam Jeelani – Head, School Program operationsManjeet – Sr. Expedition LeaderRohit – Expedition LeaderLalit Yadav – Expedition LeaderLalit Jhangir – Expedition LeaderKamal Das – Expedition LeaderMartanda Gautam – Expedition LeaderSomnath Mandal – Expedition LeaderKrishna – Head Chef, Store in-charge ManaliShanu Kanwar – Asst. Expedition LeaderShreyas – Coordinator, Bengaluru treksArvind – Store Keeper Sales
Anant – Sales ExecutiveUrvashi – Sales ExecutiveRohini – Sales Executive Anil Jo Thomas - Customer Engagement Ajay Gond – Finance & Accounting
