62,000 applications, 67 successful pitches: How startups bag funding on ‘Shark Tank India’

Shark Tank India, the first of its kind business reality show in the country has been a hit in its debut season. The show has had phenomenal success with both popularity and empowering the startup ecosystem. 67 startups bagged funding to the tune of Rs 41.98 crore in the first season which went on for 30 episodes.

The judges on Shark Tank India, successful entrepreneurs have themselves become viral cultural icons. Several Shark Tank India moments have now become the stuff of memes.

Out of the winning pitches, the creators of India’s first comic book on periods, Menstrupedia, secured Rs 50 lakhs for 20 percent equity. The startups co-founder Aditi Gupta, recently shared some insights on the process of a startup formulation successful pitch on the show. Gupta and her husband Tuhin Paul, also her co-founder, were on Episode 6 of the show and bagged funding from Namita Thapar, CEO of Emcure Pharmaceuticals.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Menstrupedia (@menstrupedia)

In her Instagram post, Gupta reveals that the application form for Shark Tank India is long and pretty detailed. “We submitted many pitch video before and after the audition. This process is tedious but also enjoyable,” she said. Gupta revealed that there were 62,000 applications for Shark Tank India Season 1 from across India out of which 198 startups were selected. One-third of them were successful in bringing a Shark onboard their project.

The winning entrepreneur also revealed that while the funding pitch and decision from the sharks look like a 15-20 interaction on the TV show, it actually goes on for much longer at around 60-120 minutes where “both the parties get to understand each other’s dynamics. Every single Shark in the tank contributes positively towards the common goal of funding business,” she wrote.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Aditi Gupta: Menstrupedia Girl (@themenstrualeducator)

She also revealed that the teams do a lot of dummy pitches before the actual shoot. Apart from this, the creative team at Shark Tank plays a big part in helping the entrepreneurs polish their pitches. “Led by some of the most talented and driven people, this army helps you with the minutest details about the pitch and the way you present your business and the idea.” The team helps the entrepreneurs with how to present their ideas and make the products shine on stage with life-size cut-outs etc.  

The entrepreneurs only get to know about the sharks a few days before the shooting. The sharks are not aware of which entrepreneur will be making the pitch.