Who will be the next Blusmart?

May 29, 2025

Vikas Bardia, the co-founder and CEO of Shoffr, and Arpit Agarwal, an investment partner at Blume Ventures, delve deep into the rise and fall of Blusmart, a once-prominent player in India's electric vehicle ride-sharing market. They explore funding challenges, emphasizing the shift from venture capital to debt financing for sustainability. The duo discusses lessons from Blusmart’s collapse, the importance of reliable service models, and the emergent opportunities for new entrants. Insights on driver welfare and the evolving transportation landscape make this conversation a thought-provoking listen.

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INSIGHT

BlueSmart's Unique Market Role

BlueSmart represented success and customer love in India's EV ride-hailing space as an insurgent against Uber and Ola.
Its operational model and financial backing were exceptional, making its rise uncommon and hard to replicate.

INSIGHT

BlueSmart's Success Isn't Easily Replicated

Quality EV cab services exist beyond VC-backed startups, often offline and profitable.
VC-funded tech-enabled players face challenges replicating BlueSmart's reliability and scale.

INSIGHT

VC Pressure Distorts Cab Business

VC funding often drives growth expectations that can lead to unsustainable business practices in ride-hailing.
The problem lies not in the cab business or technology, but in unrealistic VC growth demands.

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This episode of Two by Two was first published on 01 May 2025.

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That’s the question hosts Praveen Gopal Krishnan and Rohin Dharmakumar discuss with Vikas Bardia, co-founder and CEO of Shoffr, and Arpit Agarwal, investment partner at Blume Ventures.

Blusmart used to represent success, scale, and customer love—a reputation secured as an insurgent against incumbents like Uber and Ola. At its height, Blusmart had around 8,000 cabs in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru—hardly a small number. But now, things are tumbling down.

In episode 40 of Two by Two, they discuss the reasons why most of the online ride-hailing space looks the way it does because of VC money, why debt financing is preferred by players who own their own fleet, the different models at play presently and a whole lot more.

But the most important question we try to answer is what happens next, and who—if anyone—can become the next Blusmart? Or fill the space they have left?

Welcome to episode 40 of Two by Two.

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If you are an existing Premium subscriber, you already have full access to ALL our premium audio. They are available exclusively via The Ken’s subscriber apps. If you don’t have them, just download one and log in to unlock everything.

Not a Premium subscriber? You can subscribe to The Ken Premium on Apple Podcasts for an easy monthly price (Rs 299 in India). The channel includes ALL our premium podcasts.

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Additional reading:

Blusmart and the dogs that didn’t bark – https://the-ken.com/the-nutgraf/blusmart-and-the-dogs-that-didnt-bark/

Blusmart’s relationship with co-founder’s listed company could prove costly – https://the-ken.com/story/blusmarts-relationship-with-co-founders-listed-company-could-prove-costly/

Additional listening:

How will Ola and Uber avoid ‘death by a thousand cuts’? – https://the-ken.com/podcasts/two-by-two/how-will-ola-and-uber-avoid-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/

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This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.

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