Shark Tank India pitcher whose family threatened to marry her off impresses Ritesh Agarwal with 60 million views on one Reel

Shark Tank India 4: Kunal Bahl was impressed with a couple of entrepreneurs from Jodhpur, and remarked at the success they've found through very basic means.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | January 14, 2025 04:04 PM IST

3 min read

Ritesh Agarwal in the fourth season of Shark Tank India.

The fourth season of Shark Tank India entered its second week with a pitch from a couple of entrepreneurs from Jodhpur, Pooja Balani and Narpat Singh Rathore, pitching their cheesecake brand, Miss Cheesecake, to the panel of ‘sharks’. The panel included Anupam Mittal, Kunal Bahl, Namita Thapar, Ritesh Agarwal and Aman Gupta. The founders asked for Rs 30 lakh in exchange of 5% equity, valuing their business at Rs 6 crore. It was a relatively low-stakes pitch, and the ‘sharks’ appeared to be in agreement about most aspects of the business.

Pooja said that the company was started only a year ago, after her family threatened to get her married off when she quit her job. Looking for something to delay the inevitable, she began making cheesecakes despite having no prior experience in baking. After some trial and error, she believed she had perfected her recipe, and began selling her cheesecakes at a local store on the weekends. “Mujhe shaadi karni nahi thi, life mein kuch karna tha,” she told the ‘sharks’, humorously mentioning that Anupam played a role in her story as well. “I would be so angry every day at the man who made Shaadi.com, because my parents put my profile on the site,” she said.

Also read – Anupam Mittal calls Shark Tank India pitcher a ‘phuski bomb’, dismisses his ‘Rs 100 crore ka totka’ while Kunal Bahl bats for him

But with her co-founder’s help, Pooja managed to set up a small shop in Jodhpur, where they earn revenue of over Rs 8 lakh per month. Kunal, who described himself as an expert on all things cheesecake, was very impressed with her journey. “Who would have thought that you could sell Rs 1 crore worth of cheesecakes in a year from a 100 sq ft shop in Jodhpur. Our country is changing, the tastes of consumers are changing,” he said, but added that it was simply too early to invest in the business.

Aman agreed, and advised the founders to get partners on board and scale the business up before taking funding. Namita was also of the same thought. Anupam, however, was the only ‘shark’, who offered a comment about the actual products. He said that he found his dessert too sweet for his taste, and that this was the primary reason why he wasn’t interested in investing. Even their social media presence didn’t convert the ‘sharks’. The founders said that they have a million followers on Instagram, and that their most-watched Reel has over 60 million views. Anupam praised the underdog quality of their story.

Ritesh resonated with the same ideas. “A decade ago, I faced so much rejection. Kunal rejected me as well, and why wouldn’t he? I had no background. But I believe in you, and I will offer you Rs 30 lakh, but in exchange of 7.5% equity,” he said. The founders countered by asking Ritesh to drop his ask down to 5%, but Ritesh didn’t budge. He wished them all the best, and even gave them his phone number. The founders left with no deal, but were pleased about the advice they received.

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