Anupam Mittal, Shark Tank India judge, responds to claims of delayed funding

Ever since it first launched in India, business reality show Shark Tank India has been hailed as one of the most popular TV shows. With a range of intriguing business pitches being put forth to investors with appeals to fund these zany business ventures, the show has set the TRP charts alight. 

Claims of delayed funding

However, there have been reports about the show being scripted, and funding being delayed to some of the startups seen on the show. Taking to Twitter, a user named Anmol Sharma claimed to expose the dark side of the  ‘delayed funding scam’ of Shark Tank India. 

He went on to claim that some of these contestants had the most compelling pitches and were promised funding on national television, but haven’t received a single paisa from the Sharks. “Let’s look at the Shark Tank India timeline to understand how these Sharks look to back out from their agreement, June to July is the period when Sony is accepting registrations for Shark Tank. For example, the Shark Tank S3 registrations are live now. August to November is when the actual physical pitches take place from the filtered lot. Between Dec to Jan, the Sony team wrap up their post-production and get Shark Tank ready to air.” 

“Now if a start-up was promised funding between Aug to Nov, they should receive their funding within 2 months, because the due diligence and the legal proceedings don’t go longer than that”, he added. He also explained how these start-ups face problems as they don’t receive funding from other investors due to the show.

Anupam Mittal’s rejoinder

Taking to social media to refute these claims, Anupam Mittal, one of the Sharks, had his say in the matter.

Adding a picture of a Shark being surrounded by barking dogs, he wrote a lengthy message debunking the claims of delayed funding, and highlighting just how much Shark Tank India has succeeded in achieving its ambitions.

“First it was ‘Sharks do not invest their own money’, then ‘Oh, the show is scripted’ & then ‘Sharks only fund profitable cos’.”

Going beyond mere narratives and coming to the data & facts (yes, there is such a thing ?), the single most important piece of data to gauge the integrity of the show is the Completion Ratio (CR). Globally, but more specifically in US Shark Tank, ~60% of the deals go through. Shark Tank India S1 saw the completion of 2/3rds of the deals, which, AFAIK, is a record of sorts. S2 CR will be available in August and based on deal momentum, I am confident it too will be healthy.”

Elaborating further on the Completion Ratio, Mittal said that, “Most of the businesses on the Tank are very early stage. Many are proprietorships, which first need to be registered as Companies. The founders have never seen an SHA, nor do they have readily available numbers. Our teams hand-hold them through many of these issues. Apropos, most deals close in 3-6 months depending on the readiness of the Company and the founders.”

“Sometimes deals don’t go through because the founder changes their mind, the company fails legal, financial and/or tax diligence OR the founders do not meet the obligations agreed to while accepting a ‘conditional deal’. For better or for worse, this is just the nature of deal-making.”

“Some founders like to renegotiate or deal-shop which can also delay completion. Personally, I don’t encourage this but am always open to finding win-win structures as many of my investee cos will attest to.”

Mittal was also empathetic to the cause of anyone whose funding was possibly delayed, Mittal summed up things by saying, “To founders who might have made such claims, please step forward. In the exceptional case that you have been wronged, let’s fix that. If you are just pissed off because you couldn’t extract money without meeting your obligations, well, lesson well learned.”

India’s robust entrepreneurial ecosystem

At a broader level, With ~200,000 entries, 388 pitches, (~50% women) & ~200 offers worth ~150 crores, Shark Tank India has been a powerful force for democratising Indian entrepreneurship.  This comes at an apt time, when investment incentives and easing business compliances at a policy level have spurred the number of recognised startups in India to 84,012 in 2022, with that number expected to crossed 90,000 in 2023, with more than 100 unicorns in India.

Meanwhile, unperturbed by these allegations, Shark Tank India will return with its third season shortly. Last month, they opened registrations for the next season, with fans waiting with bated breath to see what’s next for the popular reality show.