3 College Friends Turn Trip Planning Into $900K Travel Brand

Mohammad Thaha Paloli, Jethin Krishna, and Fazil were engineering students in Calicut who craved adventure during study breaks. They started planning treks and hikes for their batchmates, creating trips that felt personal and experiential rather than typical tourist packages.

Those weekend adventures planted the seeds for something bigger. In 2017, the trio launched Tentgram, transforming their college hobby into a full-scale travel venture focused on camping stays and experiential trips across India.

The friends noticed a gap in the market. Very few companies offered experiential travel in India, and almost none operated in South India at the time. They wanted to change how people explored new places.

Their first major step was building a sustainable campsite in inaccessible hills and mountains. They handled everything themselves, from construction to guest guidance. Travelers quickly fell in love with this style of adventure, and word spread.

Today, Tentgram offers trips from star gazing in Wayanad to kayaking through Alleppey's backwaters to exploring Kashmir's Dal Lake. The company has expanded beyond India to destinations like Sri Lanka, Bali, and the Maldives.

With a team of 60 people, Tentgram has hosted around 60,000 guests. Each trip includes sightseeing, local transport, accommodation, breakfast, and a dedicated host. The trio focuses on creating connections between travelers and transforming strangers into friends through shared adventures.

The Ripple Effect

Tentgram's success goes beyond business metrics. The company prioritizes sustainable tourism, choosing locations like Wayanad where local economies depend on preserving natural beauty. By building campsites in remote areas, they're making previously inaccessible places available to everyday travelers while supporting local communities.

Their trips create ripple effects in smaller ways too. One traveler from their Meghalaya journey, which happened during inter-tribe conflicts near the Assam border, recalls how uncertainty brought the group closer together. The experience inspired her to rethink her own life and consider new adventures.

The trio admits experiential travel still isn't mainstream. No major brands focus exclusively on this niche, which means setting up products in unconventional locations remains challenging. But those challenges haven't slowed their momentum.

This year, they're planning expansion into the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and East Africa. Their goal remains simple: help people discover places and experiences they never knew existed.

What started as three friends organizing weekend getaways for college classmates has become a go-to brand for thousands seeking meaningful travel experiences across multiple continents.