Ravi Kaushik and Abhimanyu Kumar from Airth secured a deal with Vineeta Singh and Aman Gupta on Shark Tank India. Post-show, Airth saw a 5x sales increase and global interest.
How Does Shark Tank India Selection Process Work? Pitcher Reveals ‘We Don’t Pay Any Money’
Ever wondered how entrepreneurs get that golden ticket to pitch their dreams on Shark Tank India? Is there a secret handshake, a fat cheque involved, or maybe a mysterious backdoor entry? One of the pitchers from the popular reality show recently spilled the beans about the selection process. Airth, presented by Bihar-based entrepreneurs Ravi Kaushik and Abhimanyu Kumar, showcased their air purifiers designed for ACs and secured a two-shark deal with Vineeta Singh and Aman Gupta.
Sharing why he turned down Anupam Mittal’s offer and went ahead with Aman and Vineeta, Ravi told Indian Express, “I was more keen on a deal with Aman and Vineeta because their valuation was better. Also, overall, I have seen Aman and Vineeta playing important roles in the D2C market. So, we felt they could give us a better idea and help us with the right connections. Hence, we went ahead with their two-shark deal.”
He added, “I was very nervous while negotiating with the sharks, but I was confident that I could earn the money and give them. Plus we were confident about our product and business. Ultimately, they are also founders, and they know that equity is the most expensive thing a founder can part ways with. Aman also came and hugged me. He was exhausted after our pitch, but they liked how we fought for equity.”
Talking about how things progressed quickly after the episode, Ravi said, “We have met them. Aman’s team reached out. We met Vineeta also recently in Mumbai. I was never expecting things to roll out so soon. I had heard that they proceed with the deals once the season gets over, but they have been quite proactive.” Ravi went on to laud the Shark Tank India team for being very supportive. “Our experience with the entire Shark Tank India team has been great. The way they prepared us on how to pitch. Seeing how a set works was very nice. They took care of travel, accommodations, everything. We reached the hotel at midnight after our shoot and they still arranged for food for us.”
Ravi also revealed how the selection process works. “The team is very supportive. We just spend on our clothes. All other expenses are taken care of by the Shark Tank India team. Founders don’t have to pay any money to be on the show. The selection process takes around 4 months from the time you apply to get selected. There are two forms to fill out, then we are called for an interview, and then the selection happens. They receive lakhs of pitches, but only 180 to 200 pitches are selected, and only 150 pitches are aired,” he said.
Talking about the growth his business has witnessed after appearing on Shark Tank India, Ravi said, “The biggest advantage for us has been that we have been getting lots of requests from all over the world. Our episode is being telecast outside the country as well. We had received less than 50 requests to become channel partners over two years before going on the show, but within 3 days after the episode, we got more than 100 requests from people to be channel partners. Our sales have gone up by 5x.”
Season 4 of Shark Tank India boasts a colourful panel of Sharks including Anupam Mittal – Founder and CEO, People Group (Shaadi.com); Aman Gupta – Co-Founder and CMO, boAt Lifestyle; Namita Thapar – Executive Director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals; Ritesh Agarwal – Founder and Group CEO, OYO; Peyush Bansal – Co-Founder and CEO, Lenskart; Vineeta Singh – Co-Founder and CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics; Azhar Iqubal – Co-Founder and Chairman, Inshorts; Varun Dua – Founder and CEO, ACKO; Kunal Bahl – Co-Founder, Snapdeal and Titan Capital, Promoter Unicommerce; and Viraj Bahl – Founder and Managing Director of Veeba/VRB Consumer Products.
