Shark Tank India pitcher whose family poured Rs 4.5 crore into her business gets death sentence from Anupam Mittal: ‘Think of something else’

Shark Tank India 4: Aman Gupta wasn't buying a music teacher's claims that parents don't want their children to be touched by strangers during classes.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: February 26, 2025 11:45 AM IST

3 min read

Anupam Mittal on Shark Tank India 4.

A music teacher from Kerala, Serah John, pitched her online music school business on the latest episode of Shark Tank India. She demonstrated the power of her processes with a performance by a group of children who’d never met each other before the show. She said that it is a ‘myth’ that music must be taught in person, even as Aman Gupta expressed his disagreement. Serah told the panel of ‘sharks’ that parents don’t like strangers touching their kids, and Aman said that he can’t agree with this. “It would be like telling a barber not to touch them while cutting their hair,” he said.

Asking for Rs 50 lakh in exchange of 1% equity, Serah said that she currently has over 700 students from across the country, and that she charges their parents around Rs 26,000 for six months. Serah said that she has a 76% retention rate, which impressed the ‘sharks’. But they were less convinced by her business. Serah said that she has poured in Rs 4.5 crore of her family’s money into putting together a huge team, which includes a principal, a vice principal, and a head of admissions. Aman was shocked. “You don’t need a principal, you don’t need a vice principal, you don’t need a chancellor, at least at this stage. You might later, but not now,” he said, backing out.

Also read – Shark Tank India 4 pitcher with 400 acres of family land puts Anupam Mittal ‘in his place’, gets called ‘laadli’

Namita Thapar also backed out, citing Serah’s lack of accreditation. She said that Indian parents always want to add to their child’s resumes, so accreditation is important. Kunal Bahl told Serah to restrain her spending, and said that there is a lack of ‘scrappiness’ in her set-up. He also found holes in her financials, which irked Namita further. Ritesh Agarwal was also unconvinced by the business model, and backed out. This left only Anupam Mittal. Serah looked at him and said, “Please support me,” and Anupam replied, “Your family has lost its money, you want me to lose my money too?”

Anupam said that he is sure that there is no future in Serah’s business. “It’s fashionable these days to prepare a proof of concept. Had you studied the market, you would’ve realised that in this industry, I don’t think it’s a great opportunity at all. Many have tried and have failed terribly. There is a .2% conversation. It’s really hard to make the economics work. If you want to give it a shot, you can try for another few months and see if it works. But it probably won’t work. You’ll have to think of something else. Get out of this business, get rid of your team, save your money,” he said, and Serah left without a deal.

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