management

2.  Travelling is a basic necessity for all of us
today. Everyone, from children to the elderly,
travel places every day. The objective is distinct
from the desire for fulfilment. There are a
variety of types of transportation available,
including planes and vehicles. However, for
many people, the bus is still the most common
mode of transportation.

3. PhanindraSama
Biography
Name Phanindra Sama
Date of
Birth
15th August 1980
Hometown
State
Andhra Pradesh
Occupation
Entrepreneur,
Angel Investor,
Advisor
Founded
RedBus.in, Pilani
Soft Labs Pvt Ltd.

4. About Phanindra Sama
• Phanindra Sama is a famous
name that wasn't well-known but
is recognised in South India as a
young Web entrepreneur. Every
kid should be inspired by his
journey. His experience as a web
entrepreneur is unparalleled. He
was an average employee ten
years ago, but an idea born out of
difficulty has set him apart from
the group.
• Phanindra Samma was born in
the small village Tadapaikal of
Nizamabad district in India. He
lost his dad at an age where he
could not understand why things
were happening. This is the
major incident in Phanindra that
shook his childhood.

5. Phanindra says “the biggest achievement in the growth of the organization has been that
we were able to grow every month consistently. We have an extremely good team which is
honest, mature and hardworking. We enjoy great trust from our suppliers (bus operators)
as well as consumers (passengers).”
The biggest challenge for him has been to keep his management and business expertise at par with the
company's growth. He says “I am trying to overcome it by seeking advice from mentors, reading up
books on management, leadership, biographies and psychology". Like most young entrepreneurs he has
had a spot of self doubt too… Phanindra reveals his past misgivings saying “I had not internalized early
enough that I ought to be a leader. A leader has many qualities such as courage, maturity, forgiveness,
trustworthiness etc. Until I internalized this, I behaved like a young 20 something with a juvenile myopic
view of things and lost time and opportunity. When I told myself that I was a leader, the world changed
for me.”

6. PhanindraSama - The RedBus Journey
 In 2005-06, Phanindra Sama used to travel by bus very frequently. He
wanted to travel to his family but He was late for a bus one day when
the idea for RedBus came to him. He discovered a solution to the
problem, and as a consequence, Redbus was formed.
 Phanindra Sama considers himself an entrepreneur by chance. He
began his career as a Design Engineer at ST Microelectronics, and two
years later, he transferred to Texas Instruments as a Senior Design
Engineer.
 From his unfortunate experience of missing a bus one day while
working at Texas Instruments, he saw the need for an online bus ticket-
buying platform. Soon after, he began putting his plans into action,
founding India's most popular and extensive online bus ticket-buying
platform, RedBus, and working as the Chief Executing Officer of his own
firm (CEO).
 Phanindra Sama founded RedBus with his two friends Charan
Padmaraju and Sudhakar Pasupunur in 2006. They failed to raise any
funds at the start but later Venture capitalists started approaching
them. They received their first seed funding from the 'Seed Fund' and
built the company and scaled it to huge heights. The company was at
the peak of its success when the Ibibo group acquired Redbus.
 Following that, Phanindra Sama left the firm. He was employed as
Chief Innovation Officer with the Government of Telangana. Sama is now
an advisor at West Bridge Capital. He is also an angel investor, investing
in tiny businesses that he believes in.
 Phanindra Sama’s net worth is estimated to be over $12 million,
according to reports.