How Shark Tank is Shaping Indian Startups and Helping them Grow

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Starting a business from the scratch might be a big deal in the past but now you can find a startup at almost every house. Not only the young ones but also some millennials are willing to give up their jobs and follow the idea that has been sitting in their mind for years. In this favorable condition, Shark Tank can be a game changer for many entrepreneurs.

“Shark Tank” is a name that aspiring entrepreneurs all over the world are attracted to, after the word ‘deal’. Starting in the United States of America, this reality TV business show means more than just entertainment to businessmen. In this show, the ‘Sharks’ or investors give budding entrepreneurs a platform to pitch their business model. After presenting it, the investors have a choice to either invest in the company or to back out from the deal.

In 2021, a franchise of Shark Tank aired on Indian Television. Although, India has television shows spread across a spectrum of topics, this is the first-of-its-kind. The business world still seems a little out of reach and gibberish to laymen in India. Shark Tank will give its viewers a peek into this world. In this article, we are going to discuss how Shark Tank will help Indian startups shape and grow.

The Startup Market of India

According to StartupIndia, India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world and it is expected to witness YoY growth of a consistent 12-15%. India had about 50,000 startups in 2018; around 8,900 – 9,300 of these are technology led startups 1300 new tech startups were born in 2019 alone implying there are 2-3 tech startups born every day.

Indian Startup Ecosystem has also witnessed 9x increase in the number of investors between the years 2015-2021. In spite of the prevailing marketing conditions in the year 2020-2021 due to the breakout of COVID-19, the startups section has performed considerably well. These facts appear quite promising and the market seems extremely favorable for starting a business.

The Sharks

 The investor panelists of Shark Tank India are entrepreneurs who have been building themselves since years and know the Indian market inside out. The investors include Mr. Anupam Mittal (CEO of Shaadi.com), Vineeta Singh (CEO of Sugar Cosmetics), Ashneer Grover (Founder and Managing Director of BharatPe), Peyush Bansal (Founder & CEO of Lenskart), Namita Thapar (Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals), Ghazal Alagh (Co-founder and Chief Mama of Mamaearth) and Aman Gupta (Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at boAt).

These inspirational Sharks have climbed and struggled their way up to the success ladder and are one of the best entrepreneurs to guide budding entrepreneurs. These Sharks have a lot of power to help startups monetarily as well as through timely advice to help them thrive in the cut-throat competition. They are also diversified across various sectors which gives different types of startups a fair chance of being understood on the show.

Shark Tank and the Startup Market of India

Shark Tank is a TV show that evaluates businesses on factors like revenue, earnings, market size, distribution channels, etc. The investors put a lot of thought before dipping their feet into a startup. They also carefully choose the percent of equity they should be getting against their investment. The show may seem exciting and entertaining to viewers but an entrepreneur on the show gets a better sense of understanding about his company by taking into account the negotiations between the Sharks.

While, every entrepreneurs’ main aim is to get funding for his/her company, if they pay attention to the feedback of investors on the show their startup can benefit greatly.

As mentioned above, running a business in the last century might be a thing for business students or business prodigies only. But with technology gaining pace in the country, numerous people have successfully managed to turn their ideas into reality. Shark Tank India is a great platform for entrepreneurs to get that initial push they require to set flight towards success. It is the perfect guidance and boost a Startup needs to navigate through the market.

Along with this, the timing of Shark Tank airing on television and the condition of market are complementing each other. There couldn’t be a better time for Sharks to invest their fortune into new businesses and ideas.

The Story of Skippi Ice Pops

Skippi Ice Pops is an ice popsicle company which faced a terrible loss of 11 lakhs during the past couple of years due to the lockdown conditions prevailing in the country. Until, the company became the first to receive an All-Shark investment and 10 million funding on the show.

According to thebetterindia, there were several bullet points focused during this pitch including; Gap in the market for popsicles, introducing a fun product amid COVID-19 to lighten the mood of the customers, address challenges of logistics and quality of ice pops, projection of the brand and their dream to be featured on the Indian cricket team’s jerseys, focusing on commercials that can make the brand national, and eventually global.

Skippi Ice Pops is an example of what the right guidance and an eye for identifying a product’s potential can do for a startup.

Shark Tank is a perfect opportunity for startups to showcase what they have to offer for the world. Not only the investment part, but also the screen time that startups receive can work in one way or another. The show will give the viewers a little drama and entertainment while helping startups grow and excel.

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