Dr. Tathagata Neogi CEO & Co-Founder, Immersive Trails, connecting travellers with authentic, expert-led experiences across India.

Travel isn't just about places, it's about the stories and the people behind them. In this episode of the Indian Startup Show, I sit down with Dr. Tathagata Neogi, Co-Founder and CEO of Immersive Trails. Armed with a PhD in archaeology, he returned to Kolkata to build a dynamic, tech-enabled marketplace that connects conscious travelers with expert curators.  We dive into the realities of bootstrapping a startup, the challenge of educating investors on a niche business model, and how Immersive Trails is organizing India's fragmented local guide market.  Tathagata also shares powerful insights on building a high-trust team culture, leveraging AI to speed up market entry, and navigating the startup ecosystem while managing Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)  We also talk about working with his wife, 19th-century true crime and cemeteries in Kolkata . Finding toilets, and everything in between. So please enjoy the show. What You Will Learn In This Episode: - The Origin Story: Transitioning from an archaeology PhD in England to launching a research-driven walking tour company in Kolkata. - Early Wins & Skepticism: Hosting the very first walking tour at the South Park Street Cemetery and proving the concept to family and friends. - Bootstrapping & Tech Challenges: Learning marketing on the fly and why finding the right tech leadership was a game-changer. - Investor Relations: Why investors often confuse Immersive Trails with MakeMyTrip and how to effectively pitch an experience-based marketplace. - The Value Proposition: Organizing the highly fragmented market of local tour guides and delivering quality-controlled experiences.. - Culture & Leadership: Building a high-trust, empathy-driven team of five and rejecting toxic hustle culture. - Co-Founder Dynamics: The unique advantages of building a startup alongside a spouse with complementary academic backgrounds. - AI Integration: How Immersive Trails uses a custom AI model and writes 30% of their backend code with AI. - Founder Lessons: Why hiring a technical co-founder early on is the one thing Tathagata would do differently. - Visibility & Leadership: Tathagata opens up about living with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) to bring visibility to founders navigating invisible disabilities. - Popular Experiences: The platform offers a wide range of tours, with popular examples including a "Murder and Mayhem" true crime tour in 19th-century Kolkata, historical tours of the Red Fort from the perspective of Mughal women, and specialized food experiences in Lucknow **Links** Website: immersivetrails.com Connect with Tathagata Neogi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tathagataneogi/   Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel  https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2   Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.   Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes https://www.indianstartupshow.com/   Music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV