Shark Tank India pitchers who worked with Shah Rukh Khan reject ‘OG Sharks’ Namita Thapar-Aman Gupta, take Kunal Bahl-Mohit Yadav’s Rs 2.5 crore deal

Meet Croffle Guys’ founders: One worked with Shah Rukh Khan, another with Karan Johar

One of the most striking aspects of this group of founders is that they are close friends who come from very different professional backgrounds. Veer Pinto introduced himself as someone who works full-time in the film industry and is currently a part of filmmaker and producer Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions’ creative team. He clarified that he does not work full-time for the brand.

Rahul Vinod Vohra, on the other hand, admitted that he struggled to make a name for himself in the film industry as an actor and had even assisted filmmaker Kabir Khan. He revealed that he got the opportunity to work with Shah Rukh Khan in an advertisement. However, due to financial strain and the lack of success in the industry, Rahul decided to switch gears. He now works full-time on developing his brand, Croffle Guys.

Another founder, Annanya Agarwal, has invested in the brand but does not work full-time on it as he already runs another startup. Amay Thakkar, who is a full-time co-founder, shared that he studied industrial engineering in the USA.

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Who were on the judges’ panel?

The judges on the panel included Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital; Namita Thapar, Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals; Aman Gupta, co-founder and CMO of boAt; Anupam Mittal, founder and director of Shaadi.com; and Mohit Yadav, co-founder of skincare brand Minimalist.

Brand was founded during boys’ trip to Thailand

The founders revealed that they discovered this type of bread during a boys’ trip to Thailand and decided to build a brand around it in India. Questioning the scalability of the concept, Anupam Mittal remarked, “In the nation where we call croissant ‘Prashant’ do think there is market for this?’”

The founders spoke about the competition they face fromThe  Belgian Waffle Company and explained how they opened their outlet right opposite the brand’s highest-selling store in Mumbai. They claimed that the lifetime sales of 1-year-old brand stood at Rs 1.5 crore. When the Sharks asked the founders about the reason for also selling coffee, Rahul responded with a dialogue, prompting Aman Gupta to say, “Oh hero..dialogue baazi.” Namita Thapar reacted sharply, saying, “Tu ja vapas Bollywood.”

Some Sharks pointed out potential loopholes in the business model. Kunal Bahl countered that a giant brand like The Belgian Waffle could easily add the croffle category and wipe out their sales.

‘Sharks’ fight over investing in Croffle Guys

Despite the criticism, the founders managed to spark investor interest. Aman Gupta offered Rs 1 crore in exchange for 3 percent equity. Namita Thapar and Kunal Bahl matched his offer. Anupam Mittal admitted that he “hated” the valuation but said he loved the founders. He presented two offers: Rs 1.5 crore for 5 percent equity, or Rs 1 crore for 1 percent equity along with a 2 percent royalty until he recovered Rs 2 crore. Mohit Yadav and Kunal Bahl teamed up to offer Rs 2 crore for 6 percent equity.

The founders then proposed that all the Sharks come together and invest Rs 2.5 crore—Rs 50 lakh from each Shark—in exchange for 1 percent equity each, making it a total of 5 percent. This led to visible tension among the Sharks, with Kunal curtly refusing to be a part of such an offer. Eventually, Kunal Bahl and Mohit Yadav agreed to offer Rs 2.5 crore for 5 percent equity. Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, and Namita Thapar also came together with the same deal. After deliberation, the founders decided to go ahead with Kunal and Mohit’s offer.

A shocked Namita could not accept that they have been rejected. “You are rejecting the OG Sharks for the new guys,” she asked the pitchers who apologised but said they stand by their decision.