Shark Tank India S3: A Round-up of the first week

From Adil Qadri Perfumes, to Consious Chemist, here are all the brands that pitched their business models to the sharks during the first week of Season 3.

Local Samosa

31 Jan 2024 15:03 IST

New Update

One of Sony Television's highly acclaimed shows, along with its OTT counterpart, is set to return with its third season this January. A diverse array of brands, ranging from beauty and cosmetics to delightful food options, actively participated in the show. Some successfully secured deals with the Sharks, while others earned recognition through their innovative pitches. Explore the roster of brands that made a mark in the first season.

1. Adil Qadri

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Founded by Adil Qadri, Adil Qadri Perfumes is an online website that originated when the founder, a self-entrepreneur, drew inspiration from his father's attar shop. Pitching the quality of traditional attars, the founder sought Rs 1 crore for a 2% share in the business, expressing expectations of generating Rs 80-90 crores by 2024. However, the sharks expressed concerns about the market size. In the end, a deal was sealed with Vineeta Singh, who invested Rs 1 Crore in Adil Qadri Perfumes, securing a 1% ownership stake. Additionally, she will receive a 1% share of the company's earnings until her ₹1 Crore investment is recovered.

2. Conscious Chemist

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Robin Gupta and Prakher Mathur, the co-founders of Conscious Chemist, a beauty brand established in 2019 in Gurugram, presented a unique pitch. Their presentation centered around the pervasive presence of chemicals in our surroundings, sparking an active discussion among the sharks. Anupam Mittal acknowledged how terms like "chemical," "all-natural," and "toxin-free" are often exploited in commercial contexts. The duo sought Rs 60 lakh in exchange for a 2% equity stake. However, the Sharks opted out of the deal. Amit Jain expressed dissatisfaction with their marketing efforts, and Aman concurred. Additionally, other Sharks cited concerns about scalability in the business.

3. WTF

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The Kolkata-based company, Where's The Food, entered Shark Tank India, presenting their solution to the budget constraints faced by the middle class. In order to enhance the dining experience, they introduced the BSR (Budget Smart Restaurant Chain). Founder Sayan Chakraborty requested ₹75 lakhs for a 5% equity stake at a ₹15 crores valuation. However, despite the Sharks praising the concept, the founder's excessive marketing and salesmanship, coupled with his inability to provide direct answers, led them to opt out of any deal.

4. Intervue

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A start-up founded in 2019 by Rahul Arora and Pushpendra Rautela aims to simplify the job interview process for both businesses and job seekers by utilizing AI and technology to assist companies in finding suitable candidates. The pitch highlighted the challenges in the job market and how the company could address them. The founders sought Rs 1.5 Crore for a 1% stake. Deepinder Goyal and Aman Gupta presented a substantial offer of Rs 5 Crore for a 10% equity stake (Rs 3.5 Crore from Deepinder and Rs 1.5 Crore from Aman). However, in the end, Aman Gupta secured the deal by investing Rs 1.5 Crore for a 2% equity stake. Other Sharks exited the deal due to concerns over growth prospects.

5. Rodbez

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Another pitch from Bihar made its way to the show with co-founders Dilkhush Kumar and Siddharth Shankar Jha, both hailing from Bihar, showcasing their brand, 'RodBez'. They explained how their platform, offering one-way taxi, taxi pool, and carpool services, is facilitating affordable transportation in Bihar. The founders successfully secured a deal of Rs 20 lakh for a five percent equity stake. Vineeta Singh, CEO and co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics, and Ritesh offered them 20 lakhs for a 5 percent equity stake, along with a 30 lakhs debt at 12 percent interest for two years. While the other sharks refrained from making the deal due to concerns over operations and growth, Vineeta Singh and Ritesh closed the deal with Rs 20 lakhs for a 5% equity stake and INR 30 lakhs debt for 2 years.

6. Blix

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Abbas Gabajiwala, the CEO of Blix, has introduced STEAM toys designed to help children develop various skills. The company offers four types of toys on their website: Robotics Sets, Spare Parts, Stem Toys, and Queaky, each aiming to engage and educate children in a fun and educational manner. Abbas sought 80 lakhs in exchange for a 2% equity stake. Aman offered 40 lakhs for a 4% equity stake and 40 lakhs as a loan with 11% interest, but Abbas declined the loan due to lack of profitability.

Vineeta Singh and Anupam Mittal offered 80 lakhs for a 5% equity stake, while Aman and Ritesh Agarwal proposed 1 Crore for a 6.25% equity stake. In the end, after consulting with his wife, who is the COO of the company, Abbas excluded both the sharks and went with Aman and Ritesh, securing the deal for 80 lakhs in exchange for a 4% equity stake.

7. Home Versity

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Saurav Kumar Sinha, the founder of Homversity, a student housing platform that concentrates on organizing the accommodation market, presented a pitch highlighting the challenges faced by students during the accommodation search. The founder sought Rs 65 lakhs for a 2% equity stake at a valuation of Rs 32.5 crores. While Vineeta Singh expressed uncertainty about the scalability of the business, Anupam Mittal speculated that a significant amount of money would be required for the business. Other sharks also showed limited interest in the brand, which ultimately led to the founder being unable to secure a deal.

8. 80Wash

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Adding to the list of unique brands, a washing machine that can clean your clothes in just 80 seconds without water and detergent made its debut in the first week of this season. Nitin Saluja, Varinder Singh, and Rouble Gupta, the founders of 80 WASH from Chandigarh, highlighted in their pitch how this washing machine completes one cycle in only 80 seconds and effectively removes stains, odors, and bacteria from clothes. The team sought funding of Rs 1 Crore in exchange for a 2.5% equity stake at a valuation of Rs 40 Crores.

However, Vineeta Singh opted out due to concerns over the cleanliness aspect, while Anupam Mittal found issues with the positioning. The other sharks also withdrew, expressing doubts that the pitch was inaccurate as the product was not adequately ready.

9. Mintree

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A brand focusing on producing skin and body care products, founded by Kanikka Dewanii, made its debut in the first week of the season. Emphasizing their commitment to providing high-quality beauty and skincare items globally, the founder sought Rs 90 lakhs for a 1% equity stake. While all the sharks showed interest and asked questions about the brand, the founder opted for a combined offer from Peyush Bansal and Azhar Iqubal of INR 90 Crores for a 1.5% equity stake.

10. Turms

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Turms Intelligent Apparel was another brand featured on Shark Tank India's third season in the first week, where the founder, Surender S Rajpurohit - Founder and CEO, pitched about how the brand offers unique products, from 7-day no-smelling socks to 30-day no-wash jeans. He also talked about the t-shirts made with 100% cotton and asked for ₹1.2 Crore for a 2% equity stake.

While Peyush was already an investor in the company, Aman was the first to offer a 4% equity stake but with a 5% royalty as well. Anupam also presented a deal with slightly less royalty. However, the new shark Azhar didn’t want any royalty. Later, the deal was closed with Azhar Iqubal investing ₹1.2 crores in Turms Apparels for a 4% equity stake.

11. AI Kavach

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Pratyusha Vemuri and Girish Nagavarapu, the founders of AI Kavach, introduced their brand that focuses on protecting internet users from various online frauds occurring across India. The pitchers highlighted how it assists businesses in dealing with identity fraud, brand misuse, and phishing. The founders initially sought Rs 50 lakhs for a 1.25% equity stake at a valuation of INR 40 crores.

Later, the founders accepted a combined offer of Rs 1 Crore for a 2.5% equity stake and 2.5% Advisory Equity made by Aman Gupta and Peyush Bansal. Other sharks opted out, expressing concerns about the scalability aspects of the brand.

12. DIL Foods

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Founded in 2022 by Arpita Aditi, Dil Foods operates as a virtual kitchen, partnering with over 65 local restaurants in Bangalore and Hyderabad. In another pitch, the founder emphasized the focus on creating virtual brands and managing operations for daily meals, with the aim of optimizing the food business structure. She asked for Rs 50 lakhs for a 0.5 percent stake. As the pitch resonated with Radhika Gupta, Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal, and Ritesh Agarwal, they collectively invested Rs 2 crore for a 2.67 percent equity stake.

13. Bartisans

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Founded in 2021 by the dynamic mother-son duo Jovita and Jordan Mascarenhas, Bartisans presented their mission to revolutionize India’s cocktail scene from their headquarters in Mumbai. Specializing in handcrafting high-quality cocktail mixers in small batches, they also spoke about their vision to transform the evolution of cocktails in India into a revolution by creating unique mixer blends accessible to every cocktail enthusiast. The founders asked for 1 crore for a 2.5% equity stake at a 40 Crore valuation. While Aman declined due to concerns over the market size, other Sharks also sought some clarity and were not satisfied. Vineeta offered 48 lakhs for 3% at a 16 Crore valuation, along with 52 lakhs as debt at 8% interest for 3 years, but the founders declined the offer in the end.

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