Ashish Hemrajani, backpacking in South Africa in 1999, heard over the radio that tickets to a rugby match were being sold online. Once back, he quit his job at advertising firm J Walter Thompson to set up his own company. His co-founders, Parikshit Dar and Rajesh Balpande, were also on the same trip to South Africa with Hemarajani.
They set up a company called Goforticketing, which was later renamed Indiaticketing, and in 2007 became Bookmyshow. It barely survived the dotcom meltdown, but has now become the online gateway to movies and events in the country with 90% of all online tickets.
In the early days, Bookmyshow was far from dominant.The founders bought tickets in bulk from cinema hall owners in advance. They made losses on weekdays and profits on weekends. Almost 90% of tickets were booked on the phone and delivered at home. Bookmyshow had a website that allowed booking of tickets, charging a nominal service charge. As the end seemed near, Hemrajani, Dar and Balpande got job offers; but something made them stay put. From 2002 to 2007, they did call center work for cinema halls. Then things started to change. It started e-ticketing once again.
The re-launch started with four cities and soon spread to 350. More than 80% of multiplexes now use Bookmyshow's technology. Bookmyshow soon ventured into sports, events and plays. As the business grew, Bookmyshow needed more money. In 2014, venture capital firm Saif Partners gave Rs150 crore.
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