‘God bless you’: Why Viraj Bahl is financially supporting Shark Tank India 5 pitcher even though he’s not an investor

Talking about his Shark Tank India experience, Dr Parag said, “It was quite surreal, it’s a very different situation you are put in. You are presenting something so personal to the rest of the country, and the Sharks are really smart in understanding a lot of things very quickly. They can go from one end to the other very quickly, so it’s a very new environment.” Sharing how they are informed about who would be on the panel, just a few weeks before, Dr Parag further added, “We are eventually told who is going to be on the panel a few weeks before it. Beyond that, we had no idea what to expect in the Tank. A lot of preparation happened over the course of 2-3 days before the pitch when we were there. All credit goes to the team that prepared us for the tank.”

Also Read: Namita Thapar calls Shark Tank India 5 pitcher ‘magical’ after he demonstrates device that can help Cerebral Palsy patients

 

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‘Viraj Bahl has provided us with additional financial support’

While the pitcher impressed all five Sharks, during the pitch, Viraj Bahl had said ‘God bless you’ on learning about the device Parag had invented. Varun Alagh also called the device magical; however, neither Varun nor Viraj made offers. Even though Viraj was not involved in the deal, he has provided financial support to Parag. Talking about the same, the pitcher said, “Even though Viraj and Varun didn’t participate, we have gotten a lot of support from them. Viraj and his foundation have provided us with additional financial support for building devices that can then be distributed to the less fortunate. So while we didn’t get a deal with them, there is full support. And the deal is always a consequence of everything that happened; the validation from all 5 sharks mattered the most.”

‘The brand is seeing growth’

With three Sharks joining forces to support Dr Parag’s brand, there has definitely been a positive impact. Talking about how things have changed after appearing on Shark Tank India, Parag says, “Everything went upwards for the brand; it is seeing growth, and sales are beginning to appear. Since it’s a premium product, you cannot just go and buy it. But there is a surge in queries; we have received over 2000 messages in the last week, and there have been calls from people all over the country. All sorts of people have reached out to us, many have written heart-warming messages and emails.”

Parag also revealed a meeting with Namita, Kunal, and Vineeta. He said, “I met with them, due diligence is going on, so it’s a work in progress. Everything we discussed was consistent with what they spoke about in the tank; they were trying to understand what can be done with this and how big this can be, and where we want to take this. Everyone was very keen to see what the technology was capable of doing. It’s a medical-regulated device, so we need to keep in mind that certain policies have to be followed from a legal perspective.”

 

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He also added, “This was the first time we applied and got selected for the show. We want to make this a global med-tech player. Namita has expertise in the healthcare sector; they are all seasoned professionals who know how to operate companies and bring products and technology to markets. Each of them has a different aspect they bring to the table, and the kind of expertise we are looking for. Having backing from such kind of Sharks was very critical.”

Shark Tank India streams on SonyLiv and Sony TV every Monday-Friday at 10 pm.