Ritesh Agarwal (19) from Odisha won the prestigious 2013 Thiel Fellowship on Friday by becoming the only winner of the country.
Born in Bissam Cuttack of Rayagada district, Agarwal had created the travel site Oravel.com when he was 17. The site now offers more than 3,500 listings for affordable hotels, bed and breakfasts and other accommodations across India.
Started by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, the former founder and CEO of PayPal, the fellowship provides a cash award of $100,000 to entrepreneurs aged under 20, provided they skip college and delve immediately into a business for two years.