In addition to the music, comedy, dance, and talent reality shows in India, there is now a show that deals with business in India, the Shark Tank. An adaptation of the American reality show of the same name, the series features aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to established business people and getting feedback. In addition to the new entrepreneurs, there are also established entrepreneurs known as ‘Sharks’. There are 7 such Sharks in the reality show, who have developed themselves in many different industries, from electronics to cosmetics to lifestyle and digital products.
The long-running series is coming to India with the debut of the first of 30 episodes, titled Shark Tank India, on Sony Entertainment Television. The series features seven Mughals, or “sharks”, in its episodes. It reportedly received 62,000 applications from Indian companies, from which 198 were selected to pitch their ideas to the “sharks”. Audiences and startups have been raving about Shark Tank India since it premiered on Sony Live. The sharks’ ability to make educated decisions and to refuse commercials impresses the audience. Young entrepreneurs can seek advice and investment from the Seven Investors. Here are the seven sharks from Shark Tank India:
Ashneer Grover
Managing Director Ashneer Grover founded BharatPe, a fintech company specializing in offering loans to small businesses, Kirana shops, and payment systems using QR codes, UPI, and POS swipe. Founded in 2018, BharatPe’s unicorn status was attained in August of that same year. According to its website, BharatPe is valued at nearly $2.5 billion. More than 55 startups have been invested in by this dynamic and savvy investor.In addition to investing in Fintech, Healthtech and Auto Tech, Ashneer invested in a number of other technology companies.
Aman Gupta
BoAt, an electronics company, was co-founded and is led by Aman Gupta, a chief marketing officer. Launched in 2016, Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta are the founders of the company. The brand produces headphones, speakers, and other audio-based devices. BOAT has become Amazon’s best-selling product, selling over 6,000 units per day.
Ghazal Alagh
MamaEarth Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer Ghazal Alagh oversees the organization’s innovation process.MamaEarth was established in 2016, and since then they have been manufacturing chemical-free skin, hair, and baby care products. Brands in this category consider it to be one of the fastest-growing and most popular companies. An estimated 115 million rupees is the company’s net worth.
Anupam Mittal
He is the CEO and founder of shadi.com (formerly Sagai.com), an online dating platform that reaches approximately 30 million users. Multi-entrepreneur from Maharashtra, he comes from an upper middle class family. He spent almost 4 years as a product manager at Microstrategy before starting Shadi.com. The company has also developed Makaan.com, a platform for real estate, and Mauj Mobile, a mobile content platform.
Namita Thapar
Executive Director Namita Thapar works for Emcure Pharma in Pune. After 6 years with an American company, she joined the company as CFO. Today, she oversees the India operations of the pharma company. Additionally, she serves as a member of Fuqua’s regional advisory board. As well as speaking at the ET Women’s Conference, the Indian Institute of Management, Harvard Business School, and FICCI, she has also been a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School.
Peyush Bansal
A leading eyewear online and offline retailer, Peyush Bansal created a storm in the online and offline arenas with Lenskart, a company he co-founded with his brother. Currently, it operates in 70 cities in the country. The company was founded by Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi in 2010. A total of $700,000 has been invested in Feedo in August 2020, as well as investments made on dailyobjects.com. His company Lenskart was founded in 2008 and is currently valued at $2.5 billion.
Vineeta Singh
SUGAR Cosmetics was founded and is run by Vineeta Singh. As co-founder of the company along with Kaushik Mukherjee, she has been involved with it since July 2015.In the cosmetic industry, it is considered one of the most significant Indian brands, competing with the more established foreign brands. In 2012, she also established an online beauty subscription platform, Fab Bag.
