The Hindi-language business reality TV series Hindi is broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television. The series with its third season is continuing to bask in its popularity amongst the Indian audience. The show revolves around new-age entrepreneurs delivering business pitches to an esteemed panel of investors aka the ‘sharks’. Based on their pitches, the sharks will determine whether or not they will invest in the presented ventures.
Shark Tank India Season 3 consists of a panel of judges that includes Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato; Azhar Iqubal, Co-founder & CEO, Inshorts; Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, OYO Rooms; Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss MF; Varun Dua, Founder, ACKO; Ronnie Screwvala, Co-Founder and Chairperson, UpGrad; Aman Gupta, CEO and Founder of boAt; Namita Thapar, Executive Director – India Business, Emcure Pharmaceuticals; Peyush Bansal, Co-Founder & CEO, Lenskart; Vineeta Singh, Co-founder & CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics and Anupam Mittal, Founder & CEO, People Group (including Shaadi.com).
Shark Tank India Season 3 Episode 21 Recap
The business to come to the Tank in the latest episode is Chefling, a food DIY kit for international cuisines. The founder wins the Sharks’ hearts when he offers them a plate of vegetarian sushi, which the Sharks compliment. He then gives his pitch and asks for Rs 40 lakhs in exchange for 10% equity. The founder shares his vision and his family’s struggles, before getting into the nitty-gritty of his business. Namita and Azhar give the founder their offer, and Amit and Peyush join them afterwards. Anupam also gives him a solo deal and the offer is closed at Rs 40 lakh at 16% with the four Sharks.
Before the next business comes on, we get to see how Sharma Ji Ka Aata, a business that asked for investment from the Sharks in Season 2, is doing with the help of Anupam’s guidance.
After hearing a heartwarming story, the next business that comes on is Intense Focus, an eyewear brand. The founder discusses how they offer B2B manufacturing services pan-India and their designs are their USP. The pitch comes to a close with the founder asking for Rs 5 crore for 5% equity in the company. The Sharks ask further questions about the company’s backstory and how the wholesale business came to be. Although the Sharks are happy about the company as a whole, they are left surprised at the high pricing of the products.
Although the founder tries to defend his pricing and what he is trying to achieve, the Sharks are left baffled when they realise he is working with two companies in the same segment. Namita drops out at first and the other Sharks also drop out after not being satisfied with the credit risk that his company will face since it is not a pure D2C, along with other issues.
The next business is Millet Amma and the founders share their vision surrounding millet and how it is a super food that keeps the body healthy. Giving the Sharks an emotional backstory on how they decided to jump headfirst into the business and why everyone should take up eating these grains. The founders ask for Rs 1 crore for 3% equity in the company and then bring out their dishes to give the Sharks a taste.
The founders discuss the positives of millet and how it is good not only for our bodies but also for the environment. Getting into their SKUs and the different types of millets, the founders mention that their SKU, apart from the variety and content, is their taste. The founders further share their numbers and the Sharks question their high marketing spend. After getting into the money aspect in totality, however, all the Sharks decide to not invest but wish them the best of luck for their upcoming journey ahead.
Shark Tank India Season 3 Episode 21 Review
The latest episode gives us three new businesses with a broad vision but only one is able to secure funding to expand. Although it was an information episode, I was left a bit let down by the range of entrepreneurs that we see in this episode. Even the Sharks seemed a bit bored with the variety being shown, not to mention there was hardly any drama! You’d expect things to pick up steam in the eyewear business, with Peyush being there to counter claims but even there we don’t get much to look through.
I think I have also reached a point where the healthy living and eating category is reaching a saturation point in my mind, with a majority of businesses focusing on giving the market an alternative source of nourishment at quite high prices. Plus, the sad backstory is one that you’d expect in other reality programs, but feels a bit over-the-top for a business show that looks at investments. Thankfully, the Sharks don’t always use that as a reason to throw money at the founders!
That being said, I think the episode was definitely informative, with the eyewear brand segment being the most fun to watch of the three.
You can watch the Shark Tank India Season 3 episodes now on SonyLIV.