Founder

Snehit Kumar

Founder and CEO, Shepherds Homes

Snehit is a connoisseur of rich life experiences. He comes from Gaya, near Bodh Gaya, and from a family with a long tradition of serving the country. Family values guide him, as do his brothers and a wide circle of well-wishers, who shepherd him as he shepherds our guests and homeowners.

He was born and raised in the Coal India townships and small towns of Odisha, across five of its regions, where he studied at DAV schools and spent some of the best days of his life. It taught him early that he could belong anywhere. Two years in Rajasthan followed, then a decade in Bangalore, where he graduated from Bangalore Institute of Technology, and years in Gurugram, Delhi NCR and Hyderabad. He has also lived in Bihar and West Bengal. His parents come from Bihar and Jharkhand and lived across West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha, and he remains close to the Coal India family. In all, he has lived in or travelled through 73 cities.

He is happiest away from cities: in rural mountain life, or by the sea. He has spent months in Dharamshala and travelled Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal and Meghalaya, with a fondness for Shillong. Leh and Ladakh, dry as it is, is his favourite, and Kashi stays close to his heart. He never says no to adventure.

This has given him a deep understanding of India, including the North East and the cultural traditions that rarely reach the mainstream.

He is headstrong and believes in one India. To him, belonging comes from participation, not birthplace: you are local wherever you live, work, pay your way and contribute. Be Tamilian in Kolkata, Punjabi in Bihar. His life mission is to help unite a divided country, embrace its unity in diversity, and leave behind its generational curses and trauma, along with those who have only taken from it. A local everywhere and truly glocal, his reach extends across nations and continents, from Alabama to Melbourne.

Shepherds reflects that India. Our associates come from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana; our team from Assam, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka; our guests are NRIs, travellers from across India, expats and global travellers. We all work together, in harmony.

He comes from product, data and analytics, having worked as an analyst at Hudl, Slintel and 6sense. He runs Shepherds the same way: measure every stay, every turnover and every rupee, then improve it. He values originality over imitation.

Outside work, he makes time for family, friends and culture, and believes lasting friendships are built on mutual trust. He admires Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Robert De Niro and Tom Cruise, quotes Pulp Fiction often, follows stand-up, especially Dave Chappelle, and counts Anthony Bourdain as an influence.

His music runs from rock and heavy metal to rap and hip hop, with Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Nirvana, Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold among his favourites, and Kendrick Lamar the one he always returns to. His favourite song is Barsaat Ke Mausam Mein. A recovering coffee addict, he now prefers Lipton Darjeeling tea to an Americano.