Zum began as a ride-share service focused on getting kids to school but has since evolved into an AI-powered electric school bus startup, now valued at $1.3 billion.
From Product Manager to Billion-Dollar Entrepreneur
Ritu Narayan, a former tech product manager in the US, frequently found herself leaving work in the middle of meetings to pick up her son from school due to unreliable transportation. This challenge mirrored the struggles her mother had faced decades earlier in India. Determined to balance a successful career with dependable childcare, Narayan realized that millions of parents worldwide shared the same problem. This was her “aha moment.”
Reimagining School Transportation
Frustrated with having to choose between work and her children’s commute, Narayan made a bold decision in 2015: she left her job to launch Zum, an AI-backed electric school bus service. Initially, the business model was similar to a self-funded Uber, providing parents with a way to schedule rides for their children through an app. The service quickly gained popularity in the Bay Area, particularly among working parents.
“I knew we were changing the lives of working parents. Women would write to us about how they could advance in their careers because they no longer had to leave work early to pick up their kids,” Narayan shared in an interview with CNBC.
However, while the service was well-received, the customer base remained limited, as parents didn’t require rides daily.
A Billion-Dollar Journey
In 2019, Narayan proposed partnering with schools to expand Zum’s reach. The schools countered by suggesting that Zum manage a privatized school bus fleet. This was a pivotal moment—Narayan had to decide whether to stick with the successful Uber-like model or take on the established bus companies, risking the collapse of her business. True to her entrepreneurial spirit, Narayan chose the latter, staying true to her original vision of transforming school transportation.
“Let’s act now to reinvent student transportation for the future we want to live, learn, and travel in,” Narayan urged.
Today, Zum is valued at $1.3 billion, with over $1.5 billion in contracts, serving more than 4,000 schools across multiple states. Narayan’s journey underscores the importance of seizing unexpected opportunities for sustained success.
“Often, the market’s needs change, and you land on something bigger than you initially envisioned. In those moments, you have to evolve. If you don’t make the right decision, you may miss out on the success you could achieve,” Narayan reflected.