The wait is finally over. The premiere episode of Shark Tank India Season 4 is here. Brimming with bold pitches, inspiring entrepreneurs, and high-stakes investments, we witnessed innovation meeting opportunity in Episode 1 as the Sharks sealed deals that could shape the future. The panel for the first episode of Shark Tank India included Boat’s witty co-founder, Aman Gupta, Shaadi.com’s founder, Anupam Mittal, Lenskart’s founder Peeyush Bansal, along with two women entrepreneurs, Namita Thapar, Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals and Vineeta Singh, co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics.
From inclusive skincare to luxury concierge services, here’s how Shark Tank India’s Day 1 at a glance with the most interesting pitches and big investments made by the Sharks.
FAE Beauty’s founder, Karishma Kewalramani set the tone for the episode as she charmed the panel right from the start. While her remark, “Main apni favourite hoon” caught the judges’ attention at the outset, it was her idea of “Free and Equal Beauty” that appealed to women entrepreneurs like Namita and Vineeta and the other Sharks alike. The idea was born out of lack of beauty products available in the market, to address the needs of the diverse Indian skin tones. From lip liners to gloss,mascaras and brow gels, FAE Beauty has it all, for every shade of the brown skin. Karishma came with the hopes of getting ₹1 Cr. for a 1% equity despite facing losses. However, the judges like Namita, Anupam and Aman were quite impressed by her never-give-up attitude to keep her business running. Finally, after much negotiation, she was thrilled to bag a deal from Aman and Namita at Rs.1 Cr. for 1.5% equity. Did you know that Karishma has already bagged investments from Arihant Patni and Titan Capital, led by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal? The former will be seen in tomorrow’s episode on Shark Tank India.
Before the entrepreneur could enter the room, we caught the panel already drooling over the setup. While we often say that one should end things on a sweet note, Chef Gauri Verma started off with a sweet treat from Confect, a luxury confectionery brand, for the judges i.e. edible rose bouquets. Surprised much? So were we and the judges when she asked them to taste and well, like Anupam rightfully remarked, “the roses not only smell but taste good for the first time” to which everyone had a good laugh. He even teased Namita by comparing her pink dress to the rose Eiffel Tower standing before them. Gauri’s confidence in being the best fondant business with no competitors confused the panel slightly and Shark Peeyush even called her 800 SKUs to be a mistake. However, her unwavering belief in her knowledge and brand intrigued Namita who decided to invest Rs.1 Cr. for 2% equity and a royalty for 2 years till she recovers the said amount.
Finally, the last pitch of the first episode saw Goa-based Karan Bhangay and Advita Bihani’s Indulge Concierge, a luxury concierge service for high net worth individuals and ultra high net-worth individuals (UHNI) seemed to capture the interest of a couple of judges. Peeyush even joked about how Namita enters the set with her own concierge usually. However, Aman couldn’t relate to the concept as he expressed that most people have their own executive assistants. The founders asked for Rs.50 lakhs for a 1% equity at the valuation of Rs.50 Cr. but the rest of the panel was also worried about the scalability of the business and hence, stepped out of the deal.
Episode 1 of Shark Tank India was a masterclass in vision, resilience, and the power of collaboration. As the Sharks continue to empower India’s startup ecosystem, we’re can’t contain our excitement for the next episode where we’’ll witness our co-founder, Kunal Bahl’s much-awaited debut this season, sharing his valuable insights with the budding entrepreneurs and startup founders while making great investments.
Catch the next episode of Shark Tank India every day at 8 PM on Sony LIV and stay tuned for more highlights and insights.
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