Sunil Paul
{{Infobox person
| name = Sunil Paul
| image =
| image_size =
| caption = Sunil Paul speaks at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|11|12}}
| birth_place = Punjab, India
| death_date =
| occupation = CEO at Spring Free EV
| spouse =
| alma_mater = Vanderbilt University
| nationality = American
| children = 2
}}
Sunil Paul (born November 12, 1964) is an Internet entrepreneur who launched Spring Free EV in 2021.{{Cite news |title=Ride-Share Pioneer Has a New Company to Spur Electric Cars |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-20/ride-share-pioneer-launches-new-startup-to-spur-electric-car-use |access-date=2022-03-28 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date = 20 September 2021}} He has previously founded companies such as Brightmail and Freeloader, Inc. He was the co-founder and CEO of Sidecar, a San Francisco, based an on-demand peer-to-peer taxi service that later pivoted away from ridesharing toward deliveries of various items.{{cite web|last=Constine|first=Josh|title=Hail A Fellow Human, Not A Taxi With "SideCar" – The New P2P Uber|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/06/26/sidecar/|work=TechCrunch|date=26 June 2012 |accessdate=26 June 2012}}
Early life and background
Paul was born in Punjab, India. At the age of 4 his parents immigrated to the United States where he was raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Paul holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.{{cite news|last=Fones|first=Mardy |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/magazines/vanderbilt-engineering/2010/04/from-startups-to-success/|title=From Startups to Success: VUSE engineers thrive as entrepreneurs in businesses large and small|accessdate=23 March 2013|newspaper=Vanderbilt Magazine}}
Career
Starting in 1994, Paul served as an Internet Product Manager and Director of Corporate Development for America Online, Inc.
In 1996, Paul co-founded and launched his first startup with Mark Pincus, Freeloader, Inc., a web-based push technology service.{{cite news|last=Sreenivasan|first=Sreenath|title=The World Wide Wait: Don't Get Mad, Get Off|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/30/business/the-world-wide-wait-don-t-get-mad-get-off.html|work=The New York Times|accessdate=31 December 2015|date=30 September 1996}} Freeloader was backed by Fred Wilson and Softbank.{{Cite web |last=Kincaid |first=Jason |date=2009-10-25 |title=Startup School: Mark Pincus Talks About Becoming A Great CEO, With Tony Robbins' Help |url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/10/24/startup-school-mark-pincus-talks-about-becoming-a-great-ceo-with-tony-robbins-help/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} Paul served as the Chief Executive Officer from January 1996 - June 1996 when Freeloader, Inc. was acquired by Individual, Inc., for $38 million.{{cite web|title=Individual buys FreeLoader for $38 million|url=http://adage.com/article/news/individual-buys-freeloader-38-million/1981/|work=Advertising Age|date=4 June 1996|accessdate=31 December 2015}}
In 1998 Paul founded Brightmail (previously known as "Bright Light Technologies"), an e-mail filtering company, and raised $55 million in three rounds of venture capital led by Accel, TCV and Symantec. Brightmail was acquired by Symantec on May 19, 2004 for $370 million in cash.{{cite news|last=Fordahl|first=Matthew|title=Symantec to acquire anti-spam firm Brightmail for $370M|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/techmergers/2004-05-20-symantec-brightmail_x.htm|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=20 May 2004|date=20 May 2004}}
Paul is an angel investor with investments in companies including LinkedIn, and Solazyme. In February 2012 Paul co-founded Sidecar, an on-demand peer-to-peer ridesharing service with Jahan Khanna, Adrian Fortino, and Nick Allen. Sidecar was based in San Francisco, CA {{cite news|last=Riddell|first=Lindsay|title=Entrepreneur Sunil Paul launches ride-sharing app|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2012/06/entrepreneur-sunil-paul-launches.html?page=all|work=San Francisco Business Times|accessdate=26 June 2012}} and raised $10 million Series A funding in October 2012 from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Google Ventures.{{cite news|last=Geron|first=Tomio|title=Sidecar Raises $10 Million From Google Ventures, Lightspeed|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/10/10/sidecar-raises-10-million-from-google-ventures-lightspeed/|work=Forbes|accessdate=10 October 2012}}{{cite web|last=Gannes|first=Liz|title=Sunil Paul's Sidecar Ride-Sharing App Will Flag a Stranger's Car for You|url=http://allthingsd.com/20120626/sunil-pauls-sidecar-app-will-flag-a-strangers-car-for-you/|work=All Things D|accessdate=26 June 2012}} Sidecar operated in Seattle,{{cite news|last=Parkhurst|first=Emily|title=Sidecar launches ridesharing service in Seattle|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2012/11/sidecar-launches-ridesharing-service.html?page=all|work=Puget Sound Business Journal|accessdate=2 November 2012}} Los Angeles, Austin, Philadelphia,{{cite news|last=Geron|first=Tomio|title=Sidecar Acquires Austin's HeyRide, Launches In Los Angeles, Austin, Philadelphia|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2013/02/14/sidecar-acquires-austins-heyride-launches-in-los-angeles-austin-philadelphia/|work=Forbes|accessdate=14 February 2013}} Chicago,{{cite web|last=Robertson|first=Adi|title=After suing Austin for the right to operate and failing, Sidecar expands ride-sharing to Brooklyn, Boston, and Chicago|url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/15/4108102/sidecar-expands-into-brooklyn-chicago-and-boston|work=The Verge|date=15 March 2013|accessdate=15 March 2013}} Boston, New York City{{cite news|last=SLOANE|first=Garett|title=Upstart Sidecar zips into Big Apple traffic|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/upstart_sidecar_zips_into_big_apple_RBEc9ycmaZWvZ2fn4YmBTJ|work=New York Post|accessdate=15 March 2013}} and Washington, D.C. Sidecar closed on December 31, 2015. The company raised $39 million over its life and sold to General Motors in January 2016. The price of the transaction was not disclosed, although a person familiar with the matter said it was less than the roughly $39 million that Sidecar raised.{{Cite web |date=2016-01-19 |title=General Motors confirms acquisition of Sidecar's technology and assets (updated) |url=https://venturebeat.com/business/general-motors-has-reportedly-acquired-sidecars-technology-and-assets/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=2016-01-19 |title=General Motors Salvages Ride-Hailing Company Sidecar for Parts |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/general-motors-salvages-ride-hailing-company-sidecar-for-parts |access-date=2023-02-01}}
Paul launched Spring Free EV in 2021, a fintech company designed to have climate level impact by accelerating adoption of electric vehicles.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130323055758/http://blog.side.cr/ Sidecar Blog]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Sunil}}
Category:American people of Punjabi descent
Category:Vanderbilt University alumni
Category:Indian emigrants to the United States