Gauresh Korgaonkar, began working at the age of 16 to overcome financial difficulties he was facing and the dream of running a business of his own kept him motivated to not only study hard but also work even harder. After 9 years of working for others, Korgaonkar ventured into watersports business and has now become a success story
BHARATI PAWASKAR
Sometimes it’s paucity that compels one to excel and achieve the unthinkable. Those who face extreme adversities, live on the edge and are pushed to the boundaries are the ones who retaliate with maximum force and ultimately come out as winners. This is the story of Gauresh Korgaonkar who over came financial difficulties through his sheer determination to make it big one day.
Korgaonkar is passionate about bodybuilding, kickboxing, yoga, adventure sports and movies. Beginning humble but climbing the ladder of success with great momentum, Gauresh has successfully translated some of these passions into his profession and today he and his team of around 120 enthusiastic people, are offering various types of adventure sports experience to adrenaline junkies.
The young entrepreneur began working at the age of 16 while getting a degree as a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). His job was selling space in the yellow pages to commercial establishments and required a lot of leg work. “I did it for two years and paid off my education loan for BBA. Later I joined Kotak Securities as relations manager and worked for a year. Then I joined Max Life and performed there well. In my tenure of eight years in Max Life, I got seven promotions, one each year. Meanwhile I did my MBA in marketing from Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Sankhali in 2013,” recalls Gauresh.
During those years of hard work he focused on his goals and never let his dreams die. His various portfolios exposed him to a variety of people and circumstances. He learnt from each of them and continued his journey towards “making it big one day”. He invested his savings from Max Life into a boat, as sea always attracted him. Then gradually diversifying into other adventure water sports he formed his company - Goa Travel Activities (GTA).
GTA deal with fly boarding, monsoon adventure party boat trip, island site-seeing, various water sports, scuba diving, adventure boat tours, parasailing, jet ski, banana boat rides, bumper rides, kayaking, surfing board, stand-up paddle boat, motorised paragliding and snorkeling.
Besides these activities, the company also focuses on others activities like fun time at Froggyland Water World, Paintball, backwater cruise, trip to Bondla wildlife Sanctuary, yacht charters and fishing boat rides. They also arrange accommodation and transport for their customers.
“We are committed to providing our customers with fun filled, safe and entertaining activities. At all levels of the company, we promote responsibility and concern for the safety of our customers, employees, and the general public. Safety, quality, and reliability are critical performance measures for all our activities and products,” assures Gauresh, who is also the director at Aquatic Sports.
Some of his customers offer very good reviews of Koragaonkar’s work. “Right from the word go we were treated like royalty. Our guide met us at the airport and we had the most exciting four days. Both, the food and the places we visited were amazing,” said Barry Smith, one of Korgaonkar’s client.
An experienced trekker Janet Moriarty admits, “I didn’t know Goa had much more than it’s beautiful beaches till I traveled with Goa Travel Activities. The historical places we visited were real eye openers.”
Thrilled by the experience he had in Goa, an avid traveller Bobby Specter promises to return, “The Jet Ski ride gave us such an insight to how this sport is done. The waves, the sea views and the ride were so interesting. I will come back with my camera for some photography.”
Shashank Arya, a student, agrees that the tours and activities are very impressive and he would recommend them for anybody visiting Goa.
GTA is accredited with Ministry of Tourism (Government of India), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India and the Department of Tourism, Government of Goa.
GTA is headquartered in Calangute and operates in Panaji, Dona Paula, Candolim, Calangute, Anjuna, Siolim, Mandrem and Vasco.
“We offer innovative, well-designed, entertaining activities and tours for the water sports and outdoor enthusiasts looking to satisfy their active lifestyle and water or outdoor activities,” says Gauresh, adding, “Our portfolio contains each and every activity that is performed in Goa. Also, we endeavour to add more products in our list for a unique and one-of-its-kind experience for our customers. We also serve our clients with rentals ranging from cars and bikes to hotels.”
Korgaonkar works hard to provide his customers with beautiful memories that they can cherish forever, his dedication towards his profession in supreme and he has managed to turn his passion into a profession at a very young age.
