Shark Tank India: Anupam Mittal warns ambitious founders about Reliance’s domination in their industry, says Rs 1 crore is too less an ask

Two founders were offered twice the money they initially asked for on a recent episode of Shark Tank India, because Anupam Mittal felt that they need more money to compete with the likes of Reliance.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | April 5, 2024 01:02 PM IST

3 min read

Anupam Mittal on Shark Tank India.

A recent episode of Shark Tank India saw a lucrative deal that involved all five sharks on the panel — Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Azhar Iqubal, Namita Thapar and Radhika Gupta. Two co-founders representing their biomaterial science company Canvaloop, which specialises in producing alternative fibres that can reduce the environmental toll left by cotton and synthetic, asked for Rs 1 crore in exchange of 1.33% equity, valuing the company at Rs 75 crore.

The founders claimed that their alternative fibres, which are created from their ‘zero-waste proprietary technology’, consumes 82% less energy, 87% less carbon emissions, and 99% less water than synthetic and cotton manufacturing. They said that their claims have been independently verified by a third-party organisation, and it was only after this that they started getting business from global brands such as Levi’s.

Also read – Shark Tank India 3: Vineeta Singh senses threat from Jio as online selling platform asks for Rs 1 cr, says, ‘We’re just sharks, they’re the blue whale’

All the sharks were impressed with the founders entrepreneurial spirit, but Namita wanted assurance that they would utilise their resources to creating business for Indian farmers. They said that they would, as they told the sharks that their goal in the next few years is to take their business to a Rs 2000 crore valuation, by systematically growing every year. If they can transform 0.01% of the agricultural waste that is burned every year, they can make a huge impact, and this microscopic sector alone would be worth crores.

They also said that they’re on an upward trajectory, revenue wise, and have already secured a contract worth Rs 18 crore for the next year. This left the sharks’ jaws on the floor, and made them more excited to join in. While they were making their pitch, Radhika, Aman and Namita got up from their seats and joined hands to come up with an offer. Azhar Iqubal went solo, and came up with a marginally better offer. Anupam also had an offer, but said that he wouldn’t want to collaborate with anybody else because that would further dilute equity. But he had a few concerns first.

He wanted to know what Canvaloop’s manufacturing capacity is, and whether a bigger player could enter the field and kill their business. “I’ll just explain your biggest problem to you. As this niche area becomes more mainstream, the game is going to be about who is the fastest to execute and increase plant capacity. Why is Reliance the king of this industry? By executing and becoming the largest in the world. And for that, you need capital. By raising such small sums, you’re putting yourself at risk of being overtaken.” Anupam offered the founders Rs 1 crore for 1.5% equity, which prompted the other sharks to alter their offers as well.

The founders asked if all five sharks could join hands, but Anupam said that they would need to get a bigger slice of the pie for that. So, he revised the offer to Rs 2 crore for 4% equity, valuing the company at Rs 50 crore. “Think value, don’t think valuation,” he advised the founders, who accepted the deal.

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