Phanindra Sama becomes an angel investor
redBus co-founder Phanindra Sama is nowadays playing the role of an angel investor to help many startups and entrepreneurs. He made his exit from his own company when it was acquired by Naspers in 2013. Sama believes that innovation and a great dedicated team are all that a startup requires to catch his attention for investment.
The enormous success of the bus ticket portal - redBus has become the talk of the town. The site is selling over 20,000 seats per day which is highest after the railway booking website. Relying only on the awareness spread by its satisfied customers, the company is in talks with a few more govt. cooperations to sign them up to expand their horizons further.
In one of the biggest overseas Internet deals, Ibibo, a subsidiary of Naspers has bought redBus.in to facilitate and add to its already existing travel services. The amount has not been disclosed by the companies. All the redBus employees along with the founders are expected to retain their positions in the company; it will be continued as an independent entity.
Prakash Sangam has taken over from Phanindra Sama, the co-founder of redBus.in as the new Chief Executive Officer. Ibibo, the company which acquired redBus has also appointed Rohan Patnaik as the head of supply and operations and Anoop Menon as the head of engineering functions at redBus.
Prakash Sangam, the new CEO of Ibibo acquired redBus.in said in one of the interviews that redBus may extend its domain by selling hotel services to its customers as a part of its growth in the industry. He promises to make redBus a known brand in the Online Travel Space by launching new products and services to attract more customers.
ICICI Lombard has tied up with redBus.in to offer domestic travel insurance for all its commuters commuting within India through the purchase of online insurance cover. The company will cover hospitalization charges upto Rs. 20,000 and Rs 5 lakh for a personal accident along with a Rs. 2,000 as the total baggage loss under the insurance cover.
The redBus sale to the South African giant, Naspers may have been a happy deal for its founders but it disappointed most of the employees. Many of the employees felt betrayed and cheated on by Sama and Sama himself was deeply disappointed due to the misunderstandings and rumours.
