ET BureauBENGALURU: Advitiya Sharma, cofounder at Housing.com, has resigned to start a new business, nine months after the online property classified’s board fired cofounder and former chief executive Rahul Yadav.
"The toughest phase in our history were the last 9 months. Nothing haunts a team more than a threat to the survival of what they stand for,” Sharma wrote in his farewell email to employees, referring to the shutting down of a few departments and the restructuring of the company under a new management.
"The leadership team’s hard work is now taking shape. It is with great attachment that I choose to detach and walk a different path,” he said. In November, Housing promoted Jason Kothari as chief executive officer. Prior to joining Housing, Kothari was the cofounder and CEO at US based Valiant Entertainment.
Sharma, 26, plans to take a break before starting another company in a few months. The Mumbai-based company has revamped its core management team and increased focus on revenue-generation and building an advertisement business.
The company has made numerous additions to its senior management team, including Mani Rangarajan, chief financial officer; Nikhil Rungta, chief marketing officer; Nandini Mehta, general counsel; and Abhishek Hota, chief of staff.
Born in Jammu in a family of doctors, Sharma wasn’t too academically inclined in school.
Sharma spent most of his time playing football and cleared the entrance exam for IIT-Bombay in 2007. He quit AT Kearney to join Housing as a cofounder to head marketing and communication. Initially, only Yadav and Sharma were on the company’s board.
Of the nine cofounders, five including Sharma have now left the company. Three others hold top management positions—Abhishek Anand is chief technology officer; Snehil Buxy is chief product officer; and Amrit Raj is head of digital marketing. None of the founders holds a board position.
In November, Housing said it would focus on its home buying and selling business and scale down its listings and rentals, commercial properties, short stays and land businesses.
Housing competes with CommonFloor, 99Acres and MagicBricks, owned by the publisher of this paper. So far, it has received more than $120 million (Rs 760 crore) in funding and is valued at over Rs 1,500 crore.
"The toughest phase in our history were the last 9 months. Nothing haunts a team more than a threat to the survival of what they stand for,” Sharma wrote in his farewell email to employees, referring to the shutting down of a few departments and the restructuring of the company under a new management.
"The leadership team’s hard work is now taking shape. It is with great attachment that I choose to detach and walk a different path,” he said. In November, Housing promoted Jason Kothari as chief executive officer. Prior to joining Housing, Kothari was the cofounder and CEO at US based Valiant Entertainment.
Sharma, 26, plans to take a break before starting another company in a few months. The Mumbai-based company has revamped its core management team and increased focus on revenue-generation and building an advertisement business.
The company has made numerous additions to its senior management team, including Mani Rangarajan, chief financial officer; Nikhil Rungta, chief marketing officer; Nandini Mehta, general counsel; and Abhishek Hota, chief of staff.
Born in Jammu in a family of doctors, Sharma wasn’t too academically inclined in school.
Sharma spent most of his time playing football and cleared the entrance exam for IIT-Bombay in 2007. He quit AT Kearney to join Housing as a cofounder to head marketing and communication. Initially, only Yadav and Sharma were on the company’s board.
Of the nine cofounders, five including Sharma have now left the company. Three others hold top management positions—Abhishek Anand is chief technology officer; Snehil Buxy is chief product officer; and Amrit Raj is head of digital marketing. None of the founders holds a board position.
In November, Housing said it would focus on its home buying and selling business and scale down its listings and rentals, commercial properties, short stays and land businesses.
Housing competes with CommonFloor, 99Acres and MagicBricks, owned by the publisher of this paper. So far, it has received more than $120 million (Rs 760 crore) in funding and is valued at over Rs 1,500 crore.
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