Vineeta Singh shocked at Shark Tank India pitcher’s ‘irresponsibility’; Kunal Bahl and Anupam Mittal at loggerheads: ‘How do you sleep at night?’

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It was a rather interesting tossup between Annu Grover’s Nurturing Green, which has been in the business for over 14 years, and the brother duo of Saksham and Agam’s Kyari, which was started in 2022. First up, it was Annu, who had a touching backstory about a bouquet going bad that inspired him to start his Nurturing Green company, which focused on gifting, decor, landscaping and home gardening. However, his claims of using AI to keep tabs on the plants was dismissed outright by Anupam Mittal, who said he was overselling the use of AI in the company, especially when it is just a third-party chatbot. But Annu had a clear idea of what the market size was, his company’s presence in the market, and the vision to expand. His ask was Rs 1 crore for 1% equity for a valuation of Rs 100 crore.

Even as everything was going smoothly, Annu was stumped when Namita Thapar asked why his pitch of ‘quality check by ensuring there are 25 leaves’ made any sense? His curt response by comparing specifications of a house plant with an iPhone irked Namita, and soon enough Anupam chipped in to shut down Annu by saying it was an unnecessary comparison. Nevertheless, the show moved on as the pitcher, who believed his employees would call him ‘khadoos,’ impressed ‘sharks’ like Vineeta with his other ideas like lifetime warranty for plants.

But what truly caught everyone’s attention was the valuation and the sales of Nurturing Green. With a steady growth over the years (Rs 9 crore in FY21-22, Rs 11.8 crore in FY22-23, Rs 13.8 crore in FY23-24, and Rs 17 crore till Oct in FY 24-25), achievable targets, and a presence in QComm, Annu sold the idea of Nurturing Green like a thorough professional with clear numbers. He spoke fairly about his competition, including Kyari, but was questioned about the amount of money he was spending in salaries of the top brass of the company, which includes him and his wife. “How do you sleep well knowing you take away so much?” asked a ‘shark’, and in response, Annu promised to reduce the salary from 17% to 10%, to ensure more money is spent in the right areas.

In a similar vein, Kyari asked for Rs 80 lakhs for 0.8% equity, and asserted that within the time frame of a couple of years, they have understood the supply chain process, and how to fulfill the demand. In response to Anupam Mittal’s question about how they managed to do what took Nurturing Green over a decade, team Kyari said they have partnered with nurseries, and have invested in new products that would make plant parenting a much easier vocation. Their products like self-watering pots, water indicators, and self-watering globes that can be fitted to any planters caught the eye of the investors, and Kunal Bahl even praised their eye for detail in getting the little things right in the products.

Then, they shared numbers. Everything fell in place till they revealed that they have not been making any profits, and are burning cash every financial year. Although their valuation was in the upswing, despite taking home just Rs 1 lakh every month as salary, they are running at a loss due to a variety of reasons, including pending receivables, and not being on QComm. Vineeta was shocked about them being an industry with perishables, and not having a decent capital left to sustain the company, and leaving their employees in a lurch. Peyush pointed out that not understanding unit economics was their biggest drawback. They were expected to make -12% loss at the end of FY24-25, especially since 45% of their revenue went in marketing. A flabbergasted Vineeta said that the business could shut down very soon, especially since their products are perishable. They weren’t able to give a proper explanation about their vision either.

But then, it was time for the decision, and Nurturing Green was supported only by Vineeta, as the rest excused themselves from the bidding due to a variety of reasons, including ‘lack of vision.’ So, Vineeta’s offer of valuation of Rs 40 crores, and investing Rs 50 lakhs for 1.25% equity, and Rs 50 lakhs debt at 10 % interest for 3 years, was accepted by Annu, who signed off from the show promising to prove the other ‘sharks’ wrong.

While Vineeta outrightly rejected Kyari for ‘risking employees salary,’ Anupam believed there was no reason to believe that the consumers of this market would only buy products from them. Namita stepped back due to the company’s lack of planning. However, Peyush and Kunal offered a strategic help. Kunal argued that ‘fortunes are built in contrarian bets,’ and outrightly dismissed Anupam’s claims that there is no market for plants by saying how people once said there would be no market for online sales of mobile phones, clothes, and beauty products. Kunal and Peyush said that they would invest 4 crores for 10% of the company, at a valuation of Rs 40 crore. Seeing the brothers huddle up to discuss the lowered valuation, the ‘sharks’ discussed how the reality of their scenario hasn’t hit them yet, and how vain it would be to reject the offer based on last round’s valuation.

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However, hearing the counter offer of Rs 80 crore valuation, and Rs 1.6 crore for 2% equity, Kunal and Peyush were visibly unhappy, and reminded them that they were dealing with the ‘smartest sharks.’ With a lot more back-and-forth happening, finally, Kunal stepped back from the offer, along with Peyush leaving Kyari stranded.