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The much-awaited Shark Tank India episode featuring YouTuber Gaurav Taneja aired on Tuesday evening, and as promised, featured plenty of drama. Gaurav, who goes by the handle Flying Beast on social media, presented the panel of ‘sharks’ with his protein brand, Beast Life. He made the pitch along with his co-founder, Raj. The panel for the episode included Anupam Mittal, Peyush Bansal, Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh, and Kunal Bahl. Gaurav and Raj left the ‘sharks’ astounded with their revenue, although Anupam wasn’t as easily impressed.
The founders asked for Rs 1 crore in exchange of 1% equity, valuing their company at Rs 100 crore. They also claimed to have made sales worth Rs 1 crore in the first hour of their launch. “This is a dream for many businesses,” Aman said. Gaurav said that he was participating in a puja when the company launched, and kept getting distracted by all the Shopify notifications. “Pandit ji was saying yahan dhyaan lagao, but I was like, ‘Pandit ji ghantiyan bajti jaa rahi hain.'” Gaurav also informed the ‘sharks’ that he has a following of over 9 million on YouTube, and over 3 million on Instagram. This was the first topic of discussion during the pitch.
Anupam Mittal wanted to know how much Gaurav Taneja earns via social media, and Gaurav refused to divulge that information. “My wife would kill me,” he said, revealing that anyone with 1 million followers can earn around Rs 10 lakh per month. Aman Gupta nudged Anupam to move on if Gaurav was uncomfortable about sharing personal details, but Anupam argued that this information is crucial. “If you cant disclose your income, we don’t know what we’re investing in, because that’s your marketing channel,” he said. Anupam was also not impressed with Gaurav’s plan to eventually delegate responsibilities to others, and relax while minting money.
Anupam said with a laugh, “You’re a good influencer but a terrible entrepreneur. You can’t outsource entrepreneurship.” Gaurav then went into some financials, and said that his company has already earned a revenue of Rs 14 crore in six months, and that they are projecting sales of Rs 35 crore in a year. “These are mindblowing numbers,” Vineeta Singh remarked. Aman, however, was more confused by the equity split. Gaurav holds 30% of the business, while his partner Raj only has 11%. Aman said that if this business doesn’t work, Gaurav can simply start another, where Raj is the one who really has skin in the game. “There is difference between an investor and a founder,” he said.
And with that, he bowed out of the deal. Kunal Bahl also backed out, saying that the business has crossed the point of being investable. Peyush Bansal and Vineeta Singh cited similar reasons. Anupam Mittal, however, took the opportunity to teach Gaurav Taneja a lesson. “When I started, I was a lot like you. I thought of myself as a star, but when you think of yourself as a star, you think you’re infallible. you cant allocate time in startups, you have to be there all the time… It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I trust in Indian entrepreneurship, and they have so much energy, so much passion, they won’t let a part-timer like you win. That’s the reason I’m out,” he said.
Gaurav left without a deal, and after he departed, Vineeta voiced her admiration for the kind of numbers the business has shown. But Anupam wasn’t done. “Don’t get carried away, it’s Rs 14 crore in six months. He’s pitching himself as the co-founder. Which influencer-led brand has earned money for its investors?” he asked.
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