SonyLIV’s flagship show ‘Shark Tank India‘ has increasingly found itself in the midst of raging controversies. As the platform gears up to release the new season of the show, which is Shark Tank India Season 3, allegations of wrongdoings on the part of the Sharks have been doing the rounds of social media.
For those who don’t know, top Indian entrepreneurs Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, Peyush Bansal, and Vineeta Singh are mentors on Shark Tank India. Also known as ‘Sharks’, they evaluate business pitches, guide the aspiring entrepreneurs and invest their monies in lucrative businesses.
Recently, multiple reports have cropped up on social media, casting aspersions on the genuineness of the sharks and their interest in coming good on their commitments. Reports suggest that at least 12 start-up founders are yet to receive funds from particular judges of Shark Tank India. Other reports state that after coming on board on camera, the sharks ditch startup founders completely, saying that their business is not viable enough to invest in.
Fed up of the rumours, speculations and allegations, Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, and one of the most popular sharks on Shark Tank India, has responded to the allegations. Anupam Mittal wrote a long post on his LinkedIn account, rebuffing all the allegations in no uncertain terms.
Here’s what Anupam Mittal wrote on his LinkedIn –
“First it was ‘Sharks do not invest their own money’, then ‘Oh, the show is scripted’ & then ‘Sharks only fund profitable cos’.
In every case, it’s not hard to spot a pre-determined, ill-intentioned narrative with no data or sources to back said claims. It is no surprise, then, that another flimsy controversy is doing the rounds. Again, no data, no real names. Just finger-pointing and in one case, an angry & irrelevant commentator thrown in for added masala
I was approached for my take on these ‘alleged’ accusations. For the record, following is the response (broadly) I shared –
“While I cannot comment on specific instances, given you have NOT produced any names, I am sharing my views under the assumption that you will use them without modifying their intent or content.
Going beyond mere narratives and coming to the data & facts (yes, there is such a thing ), the single most important piece of data to gauge the integrity of the show is the Completion Ratio (CR). Globally, but more specifically in US Shark Tank, ~60% of the deals go through. Shark Tank India S1 saw the completion of 2/3rds of the deals, which, afaik, is a record of sorts. S2 CR will be available in August and based on deal momentum, I am confident it too will be healthy.
Coming to questions around what contributes to the CR & timelines, a few points –
1)) Most of the businesses on the Tank are very early stage. Many are proprietorships, which first need to be registered as Companies. The founders have never seen an SHA, nor do they have readily available numbers. Our teams hand-hold them through many of these issues. As a result, deal completion can take 3 to 9 months depending on the readiness of the Company and the founders.
2) Sometimes deals don’t go through because the founder changes their mind, the company fails legal, financial and/or tax diligence OR the founders do not meet the obligations agreed to while accepting a ‘conditional deal’. For better or for worse, this is just the nature of deal-making.
3) Some founders like to renegotiate or deal-shop which can also delay completion. Personally, I don’t encourage this but am always open to finding win-win structures as many of my investee cos will attest to.
At a broader level, With ~200,000 entries, 388 pitches, (~50% women) & ~200 offers worth ~150 crores, Shark Tank has been a powerful force for democratizing Indian entrepreneurship.
So, if you are going to critique it, do it with data & specificity as opposed to loose anecdotes & ‘expert’ opinions that make for clickbait-y headlines but are either incomplete or far from the truth”
To founders who might have made such claims (questionable since we have no real names), here is an open invitation – please step forward. In the exceptional case that you have been wronged, let’s fix that. If you are just pissed off because you couldn’t extract money without meeting your obligations, well, lesson well learned.”
Well, seems like both parties are right on their part. Let’s hope the controversies are sorted out and fans get to see a fresh season of Shark Tank India on SonyLIV soon.
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