Shark Tank India embarked on a journey into the world of investments, offering a sea of opportunities for Indian start-ups. Since its inception, Shark Tank India has taken the country by storm as the featured Shark Tank judges and Shark Tank pitches have had a significant impact on the business landscape of Bharat.
Committed to providing opportunities to young entrepreneurs, hailing from small towns, Amit Jain, Founder and CEO, CarDekho joined this brand wagon in Season 2 and invested in ventures across sectors, narrating a unique story of determination, creativity and success. Some of the businesses Mr. Jain invested in the last season were Mopp India, Licksters, Maisha Lifestyle, Ekatra, Gladful amongst others.
Season 3 started with a bang, with three opening pitchers and Mr. Jain investing in sustainable start-up- The Honest Home Company, highlighting the demand for eco-businesses in India.
Read about Amit Jain’s learnings from the three opening pitches below:
The Honest Home Company:
First pitch of the season, and what a way to kick it off! Mayank from The Honest Home Company lives the essence of honesty in business, which aligns with my own value system as well. From plastic-free cleaning to sustainable paper products, his venture is not just about eco-friendly solutions but also about giving back to nature. Mayank’s enthusiasm, customer-centric and lean approach to building the business and dedication caught my attention, and I found my ‘Pehle Banda Fir Dhanda’ moment as I heard his pitch. His persistence to keep learning and improving despite 80 rejections from VCs is commendable. A great all-shark deal was on the table, but I chose to go solo as I believe I would be spending disproportionately large time with him to build this together. Glad that Mayank accepted my offer – looking forward to helping his venture scale heights that benefit the planet as well!
AdilQadri:
Adil, the face behind his premium perfume brand, presented a great pitch. With over 10 lakh orders processed, Adil’s entrepreneurial journey, from his backyard and a small town, is one of resilience and passion. The missing link for me was no visible brand leverage while scaling. I try to find founders who build 10x better products which get customer retention, which gets visible in the increasing profit pools and lower CAC over a period of time. The revenue growth was awesome but profitability was not increasing. This meant that the organic demand after trying the product was not getting visible in the numbers. Nonetheless, I wish him and Vineeta the best as they continue to leave a lasting fragrance in the market!
Conscious Chemist:
The founders from Rajasthan, Prakhar and Robin, brought a pitch for science-backed solutions to everyday skincare concerns. It is a large market with room for great effective products to be introduced and new brands to be built. While the packaging and products impressed me and all other sharks, I was looking forward to a deeper product innovation. To win, the obsession with creating great products which are visibly effective is critical in the skin care category. I am a mentor to one such company named “Be Minimalist” and have seen word of mouth play for them basis the great products they launched and the significant volume of repeat organic orders because of the effectiveness of the products. I was benchmarking with them in this pitch. I would have loved for founders to be passionate about building that 10x better product with a much closer consumer connection. Adding an accomplished R&D member to the team with deep expertise in skin care may help here.
This season’s first episode proved that passion, purpose, and authenticity can win over even the toughest Sharks. And the season is just getting started. Stay tuned for more Shark Tales!