Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Apr 7: Eventifier, a firm founded by three enterprising youngsters from Mangaluru has been bought by Big Tree Entertainment, which owns Bookmyshow, the online giant for movie bookings spread across India.
The deal involves Bookmyshow acquiring majority stake in Eventifier for over US $2 million in cash, with the present investors exiting.
Eventifier is a social media content aggregator for events and brands. It creates an online social media magazine for events and brands for which the customers pay on a monthly subscription basis.
The company was founded by Nazim Zeeshan, Saud Ashfaq, Bakhar and Jazeel Badur Ferry, all graduates from PA College of Engineering, Mangaluru. After completing their engineering, they had no intention of joining any tech company as they had a dream of doing something on their own.
In 2013, the team of three had to move to Chennai due to lack of facilities in Mangaluru. Initially mentored by ‘The Startup Centre’ in Chennai, Eventifier also raised venture capital funding of US$500,000 from Accel Partners and KAE Capital. Eventifier then started operating from Bengaluru.
The recent acquisition is first of its kind to happen in Dakshina Kannada and is a great source of inspiration for aspiring youngsters from the region who are starting up and dreaming big.
"Eventifier solves a larger problem of social media, which is fragmented today. It is extremely critical to any business need," says Ashish Hemrajani, co-founder and CEO of Bookmyshow.
Eventifier is expected to retain the brand and will operate as a separate entity. The startup will chart its next stage of growth by developing an end-to-end social media platform, tapping into the data in the movie-ticketing space that Bookmyshow sits on. The platform will factor analytics, marketing and sentimentality to help brands increase their outreach. Eventifier has over 1,500 clients like Pearson, UBM Tech, Clinton Foundation and NASA.
"This is a strategic way for us to get bigger," says Jazeel Ferry, CEO of Eventifier, "Bookmyshow is moving forward in the social media space. That's where we will come in and help them."
The deal is the second acquisition for Bookmyshow. Its investors include SAIF Partners, Accel Partners and Network18 Media presently owned by Reliance Industries.
The founders are in talks with Manipal University Technology Business Incubator and MIT to join hands in building a startup community in Mangaluru to help guide student entrepreneurs and early stage startups.
May their tribe increase.