Kanika Tekriwal invests Rs 1 cr in Shark Tank India pitchers’ business posting Rs 23 lakh losses each month, Anupam Mittal says ‘makes no sense’

Also Read: ‘This is Shark Tank, not morality tank’: Anupam Mittal’s dig at Aman Gupta for judging diabetic pitcher’s dessert brand

 

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While Kanika loved the name, she went on to say, “Loneliness is a big problem today, and I guess you’ll be solving that, and I think you’ll succeed.” She asked the founders, “But the problem for me is, as a woman, security is important. What steps are you taking so that people don’t face bad experiences?”

The founders explained their security protocols, saying they have a help section, and the ‘club leader’ verification is thoroughly done, and their background is checked. Kanika further added, “I feel you need to work on this more.”

What worked against the founders was the huge losses they had been facing. While they shared, “Monthly revenue is around Rs 20-22 lakhs, and we have a monthly burn of Rs 23 lakhs.” Upon learning that the founders had a team of 24 people and they drew a total salary of Rs 4 lakhs, a shocked Aman Gupta yelled, “What?” He further said, “Why do you need so many employees? Remove them. IIT Kanpur ke 4 super intelligent people, lag raha hai yeh workable business model? One-time usage will be a problem; once someone finds a group, they will not go around finding more people, and your usage will drop.”

‘What you are trying to build makes very little sense’: Anupam Mittal

When the founders said that the platform allowed one to make their own tribe and catch up with them occasionally, Anupam Mittal disagreed. He opted out of the deal and said, “Makes no sense, the tribes can move to WhatsApp. What you are trying to build makes very little sense. In India, WhatsApp is the biggest app; people live their lives on it. This is for niche use cases, but anecdotes are not data. This is a little Misfit for me, so I will be out.”

Aman also shares similar views and says, “Team Misfit, since the time you explained your business model, I have been pointing out occasional usage, and there is no business model fit. Unfortunately, I am out.” Mohit Yadav also added, “With more digital exposure, our relationships are becoming very shallow. Real human experiences are reducing, I feel the bigger opportunity can be to own end to end experience and create your own clubs. Since this is a platform now, and you are not thinking in that direction, I am out.”

 

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Kunal also backed out and said, “The most important thing to build a marketplace is liquidity. There is no liquidity of community leaders, of venues, and as a result, no liquidity of users. So, unless you don’t get that liquidity, this will try to be a marketplace but will end up being an event planning tool. So I am out.”

Kanika Tekriwal, however, decided to take the leap of faith, and she made an offer. “I believe in this problem, your product is still not convincing enough. But I see you are not stuck in your ways. I am willing to take a punt.” She offered them Rs 1 cr in return for 3.33 percent equity, placing the valuation at Rs 30 crores.” While the founders requested to reduce the equity share to 2.5 percent, Kanika locked the deal with an equity of 3 percent.

As Kanika signed the deed of commitment, she told the founders, “All the best, guys, make all four of them regret their decision.”