Shark Tank India’s Namita Thapar takes down ‘toxic culture’, says it’s a myth that founders have to be ‘arrogant’: ‘People confuse aggression with drive’

In an interview with YouTuber Raj Shamani, Namita said that the most important question that she can ask the HR department at her company is about the attrition rate. If employees are quitting at an alarming rate, she said, then something must be going wrong. “80% of your life is at work, so people have to be happy. How are you happy? If there is no politics, and it’s a simple and nice culture with depth…” Namita said.

She said that it is a massive misconception, perpetuated by popular entertainment, that successful businesspersons need to be ruthless. She continued, “People always confuse aggression/ego with drive. You can be the most driven person, the most ambitious person, achieving the most brilliant outcomes, and still not be an arrogant, egotistical person. You don’t to have a toxic culture to get outcomes. I think it’s all this Bollywood, Hollywood, these stories we read, about the quintessential culture and that the tycoon has to be ruthless, crazy competitive and cutthroat, and back-stabbing, if you want to become a top company and achieve results. I have enough examples, enough case studies, India and globally, of people who are very driven, and have got enormous success, without being arrogant and egoistic.”

Namita stopped short of addressing the perception that Shark Tank itself has created about the entrepreneurship industry. In a recent interview with Film Companion, Anupam Mittal said that certain people were ‘given a lot of leeway’ during season one, and that under no circumstances is it okay to ‘humiliate’ somebody on the show. The shark who would often berate aspiring entrepreneurs on the show, Ashneer Grover, will not be returning for season two.

Namita had previously commented about Ashneer’s absence in season two, albeit indirectly. She had written in a tweet, “One person doesn’t make or break a show… not me, not anybody… this show is about celebrating our entrepreneurs, job creators… it’s about teaching masses business concepts through beautiful stories of these nation builders.. focus on that & the hard work put in by the team.”