Samir Bangara, the co-founder and chief executive of digital music platform Qyuki Digital Media, passed away on Sunday morning following a motorcycle accident. The 46-year-old, in a career spanning over two decades, held roles across a functions & organisations, including as venture capital investor, investment banker, CXO-level positions and as an entrepreneur. A motorcycling enthusiast Bangara was riding a BMW S 1000 RR bike to Charoti in Dahanu from Mumbai when the accident took place. He was riding alone.
After completing his commerce and finance graduation from the University of Mumbai, Bangara shot into prominence when he engineered the sale of home-grown video publisher Indiagames to Disney along with founder Vishal Gondal. Bangara, served as the chief operating officer at Indiagames when it was acquired by Disney in 2012-13 for a reported $80 Mn – $100 Mn.
“We are all in a state of complete and utter despair and words will do no justice to express this loss. But it is our duty to absorb this shock for now so that we can be there for each other, especially for his family, just the way Samir would have liked us to,” said Sagar Gokhale, cofounder and chief operating officer of Qyuki, in a statement to the company’s employees.
Founded in 2011 by AR Rahman and Shekhar Kapur, and led by Bangara since 2013, Qyuki is a data-driven new media company which discovers and invests in opinion leaders and influencers to help them rapidly grow their audience, create content and launch scalable direct-to-consumer brands. In February 2020, the company closed a $3.5 Mn Funding Round led by Info Edge Venture Fund.
Bangara’s untimely demise left many in that shock. Vishal Gondal, founder of GOQii recalled his journey and many experiences with Bangara “We have done so many things together..Travelled the world, experienced the thrills of building startups…the good and bad times…,” he said in a tweet.
