Lesser Known Facts About Shark Tank India

India is living in the era of startups. So far, the country accounts for 88 unicorn startups in the world, with a total evaluation of $295.99 billion. Out of these, 44 startups accounting for a valuation of over $93.47 billion started in 2021, while 7 unicorn startups with an evaluation of $9.12 billion were born in the year 2022 itself. And to boost this Indian spirit of entrepreneurship, a show like Shark Tank India has been a much-welcomed move. Shark Tank is originally a US-based reality TV show that spread into a franchise all over the world, Shark Tank India being the most recent one of those. 

Season 1 of Shark Tank India went on air on December 20th, 2021. The judges’ panel included Lenskart’s Peyush Bansal, Emcure Pharmaceuticals’ Namita Thapar, Shaadi.com’s Anupam Mittal, Sugar Cosmetics’ Vineeta Singh, MamaEarth’s Ghazal Alagh, boAt’s Aman Gupta, and BharatPe’s Ashneer Grover. The advent of Shark Tank India inspired many budding entrepreneurs in the country to think innovatively and have the courage to embark on their entrepreneurial journey, no matter how big or small the idea may be. Whether you wish to make people’s lives easier through your tech invention or want to give a more refined entertainment experience through an escape room, Shark Tank India welcomed anyone and everyone with the spirit of entrepreneurship. 

Shark Tank India Judges 

As stated earlier, Shark Tank India consists of a panel of seven judges from really successful entrepreneurial backgrounds – Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar, Anupam Mittal, Vineeta Singh, Ghazal Alagh. Aman Gupta, and Ashneer Grover.  

1. Peyush Bansal 

Peyush Bansal is the CEO and Founder of Lenskart.com, a household name in India now. He revolutionized the eyewear industry by making his business accessible through an omnichannel.  

2. Namita Thapar  

Namita Thapar is the CEO of Emcure Pharma, a global pharmaceuticals company based in Pune. Her company accounts for a yearly turnover of 4,000 million Rupees. She also serves as the Founder and CEO of Incredible Ventures Ltd.  

3. Anupam Mittal 

Anupam is the most experienced in the field of business out of all judges on Shark Tank India. He’s the CEO of People Group Shaadi.com and Makan.com. He’s also the owner of Mauj Mobile and People Pictures and one of the leading angel investors in India. 

4. Vineeta Singh 

CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics, one of the fastest-growing cosmetics companies in India. The company made more than 100 million Rupees in its fifth financial year, with over 2500 retail stores in 130 cities all across India.  

5. Ghazal Alagh 

MamaEarth is a household name in India now. Ghazal Alagh is the co-founder and CIO of MamaEarth. Her startup was funded by Shilpa Shetty herself and Sequoia Capital India. 

6. Aman Gupta 

That headset that you are blasting music in might just belongs to this Shark’s company. Aman Gupta is the co-founder and CMO of boAt.  

7. Ashneer Grover 

Last but not least, the shark that made it to the meme business on Twitter. Yes, we are talking about Ashneer Grover. Ashneer Grover is the MD and co-founder of BharatPe, the popular UPI. He has also served as the MD of Grofers, an online grocery store, in 2015.   

How to register for Shark Tank India? 

First things first, Shark Tank does not require its participants to have any sales necessarily or be operating in the real world already to make it in the show. If your idea is witty enough to solve a real-world problem, and if you, as a founder, possess enough faith in your idea, Shark Tank India welcomes you with open arms. 

All you have to do is go on the official website of Sony LIV and fill out a form giving a brief yet good description of your business idea.  

Keep in mind the necessary documents and videos required for the successful submission of the form. Also, keep in mind the length of the video and the size of your document file.  

You do not have to be descriptive about your idea in the form itself. That job is to be done once you are selected to appear for the show. So be brief and be crisp.   

Lesser Known Facts About Shark Tank India 

While the viewers were aware of what went on-screen with Shark Tank India, it does pique everyone’s curiosity about what went behind the scenes. From the judges to the pitches, here are some of the lesser-known facts about Shark Tank India. 

1. Pretty much everyone is aware of the fact that Shark Tank was originally aired in the US in 2009, after which it developed into an international franchise, spanning over seven nations, Shark Tank India being one of them. However, what people do not know is that the concept behind Shark Tank first came into being in Japan, by the name of Money Tigers, in the year 2001, and inspired Dragon’s Den in the UK and Canada in the year 2006.  

2. The pitches presented in Shark Tank India were interesting, some of them being very memorable. However, if you wish to get into the details, we have the number ready for you, as well. There were 198 pitches presented on Shark Tank India in total. Out of these 198 pitches, not all of them went on-air. There are pitches that never made it to a single Shark Tank India episode. Moreover, out of these 198 pitches, 67 startups were able to bag a deal. 

3. Each episode of Shark Tank India showed about 3-4 pitches. They were timed around 10-12 minutes, which included pitching, answering questions, giving the stats, and the final decision, amongst other smaller things like negotiations and thinking the offered deal through. However, originally, these pitches lasted about 45-90 minutes non-stop. 

4. Shark Tank India saw a lot of familial relations keeping forth their pitches. 27% of all pitches had couples or families as co-founders. 

5. Shark Tank India successfully burst the bubble that to be an entrepreneur, one doesn’t need to be an IIT or IIM graduate. 87% of all participants weren’t from either background. 

6. Shark Tank India also brought forth the fact that womenpreneurs of India are a force to be reckoned with. 43% of all startups had at least one woman co-founder. Moreover, it also emphasized the fact that young India is taking a step towards entrepreneurship, with over 67% of the total startups having a co-founder under 25 years of age. 

7. Remember Jugaadu Kamlesh and Quirky Naari? Good ideas aren’t limited to big cities. Over 30% of total startups were birthed in a small town.  

Final thoughts  

Shark Tank India has given a boost to the entrepreneurial spirit of India. People of all ages and backgrounds are feeling encouraged to pursue the field of entrepreneurship, thanks to the extensive influence of this show. Many have praised the Sony network for bringing forth such educational content amidst the wasteland of cliched soap operas that are plaguing Indian tv channels currently. Needless to say, fans are eagerly waiting for the next season of the show to air soon.