A few years ago, Keith Corso and Neil Bhammar were strategizing in a basement on Northeastern’s Boston campus about how to land the first customer for Corso’s plan to revolutionize the school bus system.

Today, that plan is called BusRight, and the company just announced $7 million in venture capital investment.

“I remember being in the Hayden Hall basement, whiteboarding out how to get our first customer,” Bhammar, a graduate of the class of 2022, says. “Looking back to the early days of Northeastern and seeing how much things have matured to date is really exciting.”

Corso, who graduated in 2021, agreed.

“The power of Northeastern is you never know who you’re going to run into after a math test on a Thursday night, and how they can support you and be with you in the future,” Corso says. 

BusRight provides a suite of web and mobile applications for clients, including routing software, real-time GPS, driver navigation via tablets and a bus-tracking app for parents. It recently announced $7 million in Series A funding led by Las Olas Venture Capital firm, along with several other prominent angel investors. 

Corso called the funding an “inflection point in the startup journey,” which occurs when a company has achieved certain milestones, including significantly growing revenue and demonstrating a viable and profitable business plan.

Looking back to the early days of Northeastern and seeing how much things have matured to date is really exciting.

Neil Bhammar, a graduate of Northeastern’s class of 2022 and co-founder of startup BusRight

 

In fact, BusRight grew revenue more than 700% in 2022 alone, according to an announcement of the funding, and the company has customers in 23 states, including on Native American reservations and military bases, and in small and large school districts. 

Moreover, demands are growing.

“No matter what part of the country you’re in, people are dealing with a crippling driver shortage, increasing route complexity, and overwhelming parent demands,” Corso says. “We would like to see ourselves in a position where any transportation director can feel confident that they can safely transport every single child in the district on any given day no matter what the circumstances—and have BusRight be their sidekick in that journey.”

To accomplish this, BusRight plans to use the funding to double its headcount to around 40, to expand its offerings and make them more robust, and “make transportation directors feel like the heroes that they are,” as Bhammar says. 

“Parents and communities deserve a level of visibility and communication—a piece of mind,” Bhammar continues. “Drivers are hopefully stepping into a bus and seeing BusRight as a tool they are equipped with to do their jobs well.”
“We want that tablet to be the driver’s best friend,” Corso added.

Bhammar and Corso, along with Noah Appleby, a graduate of the class of 2020 and a product manager with the company, credit their experiences at Northeastern with preparing them for the startup technology world. 

Both Corso and Bhammar both served as president of the NU Entrepreneurs Club while at Northeastern—in fact, they have raised $1 million from speakers and connections of speakers who came to visit the club, Corso says—and met Appleby through the campus’ Scout design studio. 

“Thirteen designers and engineers helped us get BusRight off the ground,” Corso says. “Not only does Northeastern provide you with co-op opportunities and connections with speakers, but also with amazing talent—I’ve been privileged to work with Neil and Noah and other amazing Huskies along the way.”

“If you want to take advantage of opportunities, there is no shortage of them at Northeastern,” Corso says.

Cyrus Moulton is a Northeastern Global News reporter. Email him at c.moulton@northeastern.edu. Follow him on Twitter @MoultonCyrus.