SeedToScale | Curated by Accel

INSIGHTS #13: 1999 to 2018 — Ashish Hemranjani recaps the BookMyShow journey

Episode Summary

In this final episode on fundraising, we hear from a master story-teller — Ashish Hemranjani, co-founder and CEO of BookMyShow, India’s leader in entertainment ticketing. Ashish recaps his journey from founding the company in 1999 all the way to 2018 and the various phases of the business ups and downs he has seen over this time period. In particular, we discuss the following topics in great details: - Early days of BookMyShow including launching India’s first cash on delivery (COD) service - The tough years post the 2001 dotcom bust and how they survived those tough years - How to pick your investment partner — and the importance of that in the battle called entrepreneurship - How to think through valuation while fundraising - Hiring bankers or not while fundraising - How to become a good story teller as a founder Difference between building a good company vs a great company Having an empty chair that represents your consumer in every meeting Why Ashish appreciates being known as a mongrel more than being a Unicorn And most importantly how to run this marathon called a startup while still enjoying your life and coming back every Monday energised to build your startup!

Episode Notes

In this final episode on fundraising, we hear from a master story-teller — Ashish Hemranjani, co-founder and CEO of BookMyShow, India’s leader in entertainment ticketing.

Ashish recaps his journey from founding the company in 1999 all the way to 2018 and the various phases of the business ups and downs he has seen over this time period.

In particular, we discuss the following topics in great details:

Difference between building a good company vs a great company
Having an empty chair that represents your consumer in every meeting
Why Ashish appreciates being known as a mongrel more than being a Unicorn

And most importantly how to run this marathon called a startup while still enjoying your life and coming back every Monday energised to build your startup!