Serial entrepreneur C. Sivasankaran, better known as ‘Sterling’ Siva, has decided to compete with Uber and Ola by investing in start-up venture UTOO Cabs.
The entrepreneur who shot to fame with the introduction of low-priced Siva personal computers is betting big on the apps-driven taxi hailing space with his investment.
“When I see profit, I enter a business. I want to make profit quarter after quarter,’’ Mr. Sivasankaran told the media on Thursday explaining the reason for entering the business.
Fleet strength The service would initially cover eight cities, including four metros.
The plan was to have a fleet strength of 1,000 in Chennai to begin with, he said.
This could be quickly scaled up vertically to beef up network density. The first-phase roll-out in these cities would involve 1 lakh cars and the process is expected to be completed within four months.
Service experience According to him, the “service experience’’ on offer is the USP (unique selling proposition) of UTOO Cabs.
Also, the business model of UTOO revolves around a healthy, mutually profitable and sustained relationship with drivers.
The new taxi aggregator has designed innovative earning options that are convenient and flexible for drivers.
Mr. Sivasankaran said the comfort of customers and the safety of drivers were critical components of the business pursuit of UTOO. This focus, he said, was the principal reason for UTOO to opt for the latest specified model cars with adequate driver safety precautions. This was also the reason why UTOO had decided to go for own fleet at least to begin with.
Stating that competition had indeed created the market, he felt there was still plenty of opportunity in that space.
Mr. Sivasankaran made it clear that he was not in the game of grabbing market share.
Surge pricing “Surge pricing’’ was a bad concept, he said. He felt that the concept could not be replicated in Indian conditions. Mr. Sivasankaran said three factors – customers, profit and competition - defined his entry into any business.
He claimed he had skills to handle the competition. He may have failed in his bid for Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) and exited the telecom space, but the focus never goes off for this serial entrepreneur.
