Gensol-Blusmart crisis: Founders kill the biz; long live the brand

The BluSmart story is not a one-off. India has witnessed several such instances in the past-brilliant brands or products built from scratch, only to be undone by mismanagement or greed

India has witnessed several instances in the past like BluSmart — brilliant brands or products built from scratch, only to be undone by mismanagement or greed.

 

Jet Airways is one such case. Although the airline struggled with high fuel costs, mounting debt, and stiff competition from low-cost carriers, founder Naresh Goyal’s role in its downfall cannot be overlooked. And of course, who can forget the Satyam scandal?

 

“There is value left in these brands, but retrieving brands like these is tough. The brand is never unencumbered. Despite promoters having built a good brand and business, the brand most certainly goes down with the culprit,” said Sandeep Goyal, chairman of Rediffusion. 

 

There are only two brands that managed to survive even as their founders floundered — brand Kingfisher and Indian Premier League.

 

Goyal said that in Vijay Mallya and IPL’s case, the brands survived as there was someone to focus on operations.

 

“In IPL's case, it survived because it belonged to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),” he said. 

 

BluSmart, another strong brand, has seen support pouring in on social media platforms, such as X and LinkedIn.

 

Even as many customers struggle to retrieve their money from their BluSmart wallets, not a single post, comment, or shared experience fails to praise the brand and the quality of service it provided.

 

“I hated using Uber — cancelled rides, ill-mannered drivers, cars that would reek. BluSmart was the perfect solution. Slightly expensive, but worth the penny. Its demise signals how many good ideas find it hard to survive in India — either due to greed or corruption. Unfortunate,” said Radhika Roy, a customer of BluSmart on X.

 

Another user on X posted: “An abrupt and inglorious halt to what had become an impressive brand in recent years — excellent + reliable service, happy employees, women drivers, EV rides, clean cabs (each an exception to the norm). It's hard not to feel a sense of loss today.”

 

Comments like these are flooding the social media, highlighting how BluSmart has come to represent reliability and excellence in urban mobility.

 

So far, in the Indian startup ecosystem, the rush for growth at all costs has resulted in many businesses failing, but not many have created a service which comes close to what BluSmart managed to do in seven years of its operations.

 

“BluSmart did an excellent job and the training behind the brand, the delivery as far as the brand was concerned, the differentiation that they offered versus Ola and Uber really made them the better brand in the cab aggregator market,” added Harish Bijoor, business and brand-strategy expert.

 

Can such brands be saved? Can someone intervene? Should the government intervene? Bijoor believes that in some cases there needs to be some intervention mechanism.

 

“We saw the government stepping in when Satyam fell. We need an institutional mechanism. Something that can be set up on an emergency basis. A quick board or a committee may step in managing the crisis,” he further added.

 

Devangshu Dutta, chief executive officer (CEO) of Third Eyesight said if someone steps in without leaving too much of a delay, then the brand may survive.

 

But the new partner taking over needs to be able to take over the operations and make sure the brand continues and survives.

 

“It is best if the person stepping in is independent and understands the business so that the brand doesn’t see any erosion,” added Dutta.  

Brand woes

 

>India has witnessed several such instances where brilliant brands or products have been built from scratch, only to be undone by mismanagement

> There are only two brands that managed to survive even as their founders floundered—Kingfisher and Indian Premier League

> Experts note that despite promoters having built a good brand and business, the brand most certainly goes down with the culprit