Online entertainment ticketing brand BookMyShow has invested an undisclosed amount for a majority stake in DIY event registration and ticketing portal, Townscript.
Launched in 2014 by Sachin Sharma and Sanchit Malik, Townscript facilitates the ticketing requirements of small and medium events such as workshops, marathons, trips, college festivals etc. The startup enables event organisers to set up a registration and ticketing page via its website or app.
Townscript will deploy the funds towards scaling and improving its product offering and subsequent expansion as well.
Sachin Sharma, co-founder, Townscript said, “We see this investment as the launch pad for a new round of innovation and fast-tracked progress. The investment will be primarily utilised towards building and improving the product offering to technology solutions that address all pain points of registration based events right from school annual days, expos and conventions, to free to host charity, spirituality and fashion events. BookMyShow’s deep understanding of this space will be critical as we hit scale not just in terms of geographical penetration but also with regards to our product offering expansion.”
The startup also allows users to build and customise event details as per their needs, offer promotional discounts, directly communicate with the attendees, collect payments, transfer or refund tickets, and track event progress using real time analysis provided by Townscript. As per an official statement, the platform claims to have provided its services to over 12,000 events across the country, including in smaller cities such as Ludhiana and Jaipur.
The startup works on a transaction-based revenue model – it charges 3.99% + INR 10 per transaction, inclusive of the payment gateway fee.
Commenting on the investment, Ashish Hemrajani, CEO and co-founder, BookMyShow said, “We discovered a perfect synergy match with Townscript and are excited to be partnering with them in their journey towards excelling in this segment. Both Sachin and Sanchit have shown great drive and charted an aggressive growth path for the company. We are eager to share our learnings as well as market and product expertise in this space, to help Townscript continue to scale.”
BookMyShow had earlier acquired Chennai-based online ticketing player TicketGreen in 2013, social media analytics startup Eventifier in 2015, and fan relationship management startup Fantain Sports in 2016.
In July 2016, BookMyShow raised about $80 Mn (INR 550 Cr) led by US-based growth fund Stripes Group with participation from existing investors Network 18, Accel Partners, and SAIF Partners. In December 2016, it also rolled out the newly designed and improved version v5.0.7 of its Android app. Earlier last month, it acquired online ticketing platform MastiTickets for an undisclosed amount in an all cash deal.
