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Nitin Khanna, founder of community-driven travel agency, Capture A Trip
In a recent episode of the Startup Pedia Podcast, Nitin Khanna, founder of Capture A Trip, shared that a founder’s journey often requires years of isolation and limited support. The company has recently been featured on Shark Tank India, where it raised Rs 75 lakh in funding for 5% equity.
Calling out the glamorous perception of startup life, Khanna shared that he spent nearly eight years building the company with minimal social backing.
He revealed that the success and stability he enjoys today came only after enduring prolonged struggle, solitude, and unwavering commitment to his venture.
“A founder’s life demands years of solitude, sacrifice, and silent resilience,” Nitin Khanna told Jameel Akhter, co-founder of Startup Pedia and podcast host.
The Grind Behind the Glamour
A founder’s life is often seen as glamorous, filled with rapid growth and public recognition. But for many, the journey begins in silence, uncertainty, and long stretches of isolation.
Speaking on the Startup Pedia Podcast, Capture A Trip founder Nitin Khanna shared a candid perspective on what it truly takes to build a venture from the ground up.
Khanna challenged the popular narrative of overnight success and highlighted the emotional and personal cost behind entrepreneurial achievement.
Khanna also revealed that building a company can 'finish a person' within a family, sharing that for eight years, he watched no movies and made no friends, focusing entirely on the survival of his vision until the recent stability of funding and a structured team arrived.
“There are situations where it feels like everything is going to end. How you pull yourself out of those moments is what truly sets you apart from the rest of the world,” Capture A Trip’s founder says.
‘Do Not Become a Copycat’
The founder also believes that the real test of a company is not the idea but how it handles tough situations. He explained that many players enter the community travel market by imitating existing formats but struggle when real challenges arise. Business ideas can be easily copied but not replicated.
“Companies will open, and companies will close, but my challenge to everyone is that you won’t be able to do it bigger than Capture A Trip. People copy us, but when you get stuck, copying doesn’t work. Your own mind has to work to find a way out,” he says.
According to Khanna, the true edge lies in problem-solving. While competitors may copy travel packages or pricing models, they often fail to manage the deeper responsibilities that come with handling a large community of travellers.
For him, the aim was never just to sell trips but to build a strong system that could grow sustainably. Today, that vision has translated into a company where customers can book around 50 packages a day through its website alone.
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About Capture A Trip
Capture A Trip is a Delhi-based community travel company that focuses on curated group experiences, particularly for young travellers and working professionals.
Founded by Nitin Khanna and Anurag Singal in 2016, the company aims to make travel more social, structured, and accessible through well-planned itineraries and managed travel communities.
Recently, the company gained wider recognition after appearing on Shark Tank India Season 5, where it secured funding of Rs 75 lakh for a 5% equity stake from investors Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal) and Mohit Yadav (Minimalist).
This deal established a current valuation of Rs 15 crore for the company. Capture A Trip reached a revenue of Rs 20.4 crore in FY25, achieving a 166% CAGR over the last year. Looking ahead, the projected revenue for FY26 is Rs 45 crore.
Social Media Captions
Startup culture might look glamorous, and fundraising headlines dominate social media, but for Capture A Trip founder Nitin Khanna, entrepreneurship is a gruelling test of endurance that can ‘finish a person’ before it ever makes them a success
Speaking on the Startup Pedia podcast, the founder of Capture A Trip said the reality of building a company is far less exciting than it appears from the outside.
“The life of a founder looks glamorous from the outside, but in reality, it demands years of solitude, sacrifice, and silent resilience,” Nitin Khanna told Jameel Akhtar, co-founder of Startup Pedia and podcast host.
According to him, he spent nearly eight years building the company with minimal social life or external support. He did not watch movies, did not build friendships, and focused entirely on surviving and sustaining his venture. The stability and scale visible today came much later.
He also warned that there are moments when it feels like everything is about to collapse. The real differentiator, he believes, is how a founder handles those breaking points.
Khanna further advised people not to become copycats. In the community travel space, he has seen multiple players replicate packages and pricing models. However, when operational challenges arise, copying stops working.
“Companies will open, and companies will close, but you cannot build it bigger just by copying. When you get stuck, your own mind has to work,” he said.
For him, the goal was never just to sell trips but to build a structured, scalable system. Today, the company books around 50 travel packages daily through its website alone.
Founded in 2016, Capture A Trip gained national visibility after appearing on Shark Tank India Season 5, where it raised Rs 75 lakh for 5% equity from Kunal Bahl and Mohit Yadav, valuing the company at Rs 15 crore.
With Rs 20.4 crore revenue in FY25 and a projected Rs 45 crore in FY26, the growth is now visible. But as Khanna makes clear, the journey to get there was anything but glamorous.