FoundrPwr - Building Exceptional Teams ft. Phanindra Sama (RedBus)

Few decisions shape a startup as lastingly as its first twenty hires. Those people set the pace, the standards and the culture that everyone after them inherits. Yet most founders build their early teams through instinct and urgency rather than design. For the next edition of FoundrPwr, Mela Ventures is hosting Phanindra (Phani) Sama, co-founder and former CEO of redBus, for a conversation on building exceptional teams. Phani built redBus from a small team of engineers into a company that led India's online bus ticketing market and became one of the country's earliest notable startup exits. He brings an unusually wide view of talent. As an angel investor and advisor, he has watched teams form and grow across many early-stage companies. Through his work in youth skilling, he has also seen how capable professionals are developed from the ground up. What the conversation will cover What distinguishes great early teams, and how founders can assemble one before they have a brand, a large budget or a proven product How to attract strong people to an unproven company, and what keeps them there once the early excitement fades The practices, norms and structures founders should put in place from the start How hiring, leadership and culture need to change as a startup grows from a handful of people into a larger organisation Who should attend Founders of early-stage companies Founders making their first key hires or preparing to scale their teams Operators and early employees building functions within startups About the speaker Phanindra Sama co-founded redBus in 2006 after he could not find a bus ticket home from Bengaluru one Diwali weekend. He led the company as CEO until its acquisition by the ibibo Group in 2013. He later served as Chief Innovation Officer for the Government of Telangana. Much of Phani's recent work has focused on preparing young people for employment. He co-founded Kakatiya Sandbox, which supports innovation, entrepreneurship and skill development in