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The fourth season of Shark Tank India entered its second week with a pitch from a young founder named Rohan, who presented his adventure gear company Tripole to the panel of ‘sharks’. The panel included Anupam Mittal, Namita Thapar, Kunal Bahl, Ritesh Agarwal and Aman Gupta. Rohan left several ‘sharks’ impressed with his humility and simplicity, but found it difficult to gain Anupam’s trust. He asked for Rs 1 crore in exchange of 1% equity in his business, for a valuation of Rs 100 crore.
But Anupam wasn’t convinced. He asked Rohan why he isn’t aware of the industry, and doesn’t have all the details at the tip of his tongue. He also didn’t agree with the valuation, which he described as “Rs 100 cr ka totka,” and added, “I’m shocked that you don’t have an understanding of the market, aren’t you hungry about this business?” Anupam also said that it is a “huge red flag” that Rohan wasn’t able to build a community around his products, because that would’ve really helped his business grow. Rohan admitted that the brand’s Instagram account only has 8000 followers. “You should’ve had million followers by now, or at least 100,000,”
But Namita and Kunal batted for him. Namita tested him with a ‘difficult question’, and asked what he believes is his biggest failure. Rohan admitted that he is too soft spoken, and that hasn’t worked in his favour as a businessperson. “Aapke answer ne mera dil jeet liya,” an impressed Namita said. Kunal joined in; he said that he really admires founders like Rohan, and called him a ‘soft rocket’. Anupam, however, didn’t agree. “You’re more like a phuski rocket, I think,” he said.
Namita made Rohan an offer, as did Ritesh. Kunal, on the other hand, said that he isn’t interested in playing the small game, and offered Rohan Rs 3 crore in exchange of 7.5% equity, valuing the business at Rs 40 crore. Rohan took a moment to consider the offers, and asked Kunal if he was ready to bring his ask down to 4%. Kunal refused to budge even a little bit. But Ritesh and Namita made adjustments, and Rohan eventually ended up partnering with Ritesh, because of his connections in the travel industry. He accepted an offer for Rs 75 lakh and Rs 25 lakh in debt, for a valuation of Rs 66 crore.
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