Shark Tank India 4 judge Viraj Bahl reveals why deals fizzle out after the show: ‘Sometimes founders are there just for the marketing’

Viraj went on to express his admiration for the entrepreneurs who participated in Shark Tank India. “This year I saw that company sizes have become bigger. Multiple companies that came on the show had annual revenue between Rs 20-50 crores. Higher valuations have been asked this year. 80 percent of the founders this year have spoken about profitability over growth which is encouraging to see. People from multiple geographies have come on the show this season. People from tier 2 and 3 cities also came on the show. Passionate, hardworking, and hungry founders appeal to me the most. I like it when they are detail-oriented.”

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Also Read: Shark Tank India 4 judge Viraj Bahl recalls selling wife’s home to start Veeba, had no orders for 2 years: ‘I had no money for salaries’

In the past, ‘sharks’ have shared how many deals fizzle out after the show ends. Explaining why this happens, Viraj said, “Usually, when an investor invests in a company, it takes between six to 12 weeks, but we have just one hour. Sometimes the decisions we make are based on the numbers provided in the tank, but later if the numbers are inaccurate, the deal cannot be followed through. Also, the numbers change, usually when you invest in the tank, by the time your due diligence is done, the numbers go high because of the marketing they get from the show. They can go as high as 100 per cent. Maybe at that time a founder says that their business has scaled and valuation needs to be increased which the sharks don’t agree to. Sometimes a few founders are there just for the marketing and are not interested in doing the deal afterward.”

Viraj also shared how the founders who bag a deal are not given a real cheque on the show. He said, “We don’t give them a real cheque. It’s a serious letter of intent, which states that the deal will be done subject to the numbers that have been provided are accurate. Five percent plus-minus is okay, but anything beyond that can put the deal in jeopardy. Usually, we like to close the deal before it airs, but it takes between 4 and 12 weeks to close the deal.”

 

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Viraj Bahl lastly spoke about his journey as an entrepreneur, highlighting how he deals with success and failure. He said, “There have been many low points. I am one of those unfortunate founders who shut a business. Today, I cannot be more thankful to God that the business failed, otherwise, I wouldn’t have started Veeba. But shutting down that business taught me a lesson about frugality – making the right expense at the right time. This also has contributed to the success of Veeba today. It is very important to learn from your mistakes and failures, acknowledge them, and try to move on from them. I still don’t think I have arrived. I don’t celebrate my high points. I have now started to understand mental health better, so I deal with low points by doing meditation. Earlier I used to vent to my close ones.”

Viraj will be joining Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh, Ritesh Agarwal, Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar, Kunal Bahl, and others on the latest season of Shark Tank India Season 4 by the end of February.