[music playing]
- Jeez! - Ho!
Aman, don't be scared.
If it turns out to be Peyush, he will be scared.
Shark Tank seems scripted to me.
[chuckles]
How can someone decide to invest 50 lakhs in ten minutes?
[laughs]
Do they pay or does the channel pay?
That's alright. But tell me,
did Anupam really invest in 200 companies?
[laughs]
I find Peyush to be amazing.
He markets his spectacles well in every episode.
[laughs]
And Aman will hire everyone if possible.
[laughs]
Who are they?
Oh, nice!
Alright.
Welcome to the Hood.
Imagine a world where
you can say discuss anything freely.
Introducing the Hood app.
[music playing]
Hood is a pseudonymous social network.
Sharks, I'm Jasveer.
I'm Abhishek Asthana.
- And I'm Deepak Kumar. - We are from Gurgaon.
are anonymous groups.
You can create a group for your company,
college, or any interest.
Another important factor is that
your data is end-to-end encrypted on this app.
will remain completely confidential, safe, and secure.
We want to make Hood a global platform where
you can share whatever you wish
and people will value-drive it.
- What's the valuation? - 600 crores.
Ah!
- Certainly. - That's the beauty of it.
- Welcome to Shark Tank. - Thanks.
Your entry
- was brilliant! - Thank you so much.
It's evident that you are drama kings.
Fully dramatic!
My name is Jasveer. I'm from Etah, UP.
I was always good at academics. Math was my forte.
I completed B.Sc in mathematics.
My family and relative's mindset have always been backward.
There was nobody to guide me.
I was good with numbers. So, I decided
my way ahead and that's how
my entrepreneurship journey started.
I built two big companies.
And I made an exit with 9-10 crores.
And I worked hard
and now my only motive
is to grow Hood.
[music playing]
- This company, Hood. - Yes.
Is this Zorro rebranded?
Yes.
Many people invested in Zorro.
- Yes, I'll tell you my story. - Is that you? Share your story.
[music playing]
I'm Abhishek from Lucknow.
Earlier, I used to write blogs under the pseudonym Gabbar Singh.
When I had to delete it,
I realised that my account was growing fast.
[music playing]
I decided to stop blogging
and start tweeting.
Before going more involved in tweets and trolls,
I studied hard.
I completed my engineering and went on to do MBA.
I worked with many good companies.
But there is nothing more satisfying than running your own company.
You had trolled Shark Tank too.
[laughs]
Yes, I remember.
Look, humour and
- sarcasm is acceptable. - No, it wasn't humour.
Shall we read the tweet?
[laughs]
Good one!
We're the Dobermann today.
[laughs]
So, the app was your idea.
No, it was ours.
You tell me.
[music playing]
My name is Deepak.
Coding is my job.
It gets work done in a jiffy.
I'm from Jammu. We don't have internet there.
Similarly, there's no coder like me.
[music playing]
Basically, during the lockdown,
I took an exit and later,
I started working on a project.
It was Dot Review. It was just for fun.
You can learn anything
about the investors.
In that, we built a community called founder forum.
A place where founders can discuss anything.
For example, if someone's girlfriend
gives a choice between launching a startup and continue dating.
[music playing]
Is this a discussion forum or a gossip forum?
No, it's a discussion forum but realistic examples
where an investor asks you to focus on growth.
This is a better example.
During that period, we noticed high engagement.
And I always wanted to work on a large-scale project.
Since 2012. To make something really big.
I felt that this problem
is not limited to founders alone.
That's when we met Abhishek in Gurgaon.
We discussed the idea.
And Abhishek already runs a pseudonymous account on Twitter.
So, we brainstormed
and took almost 3-4 months
to find out the problems
and the reason behind it.
After that, we decided on the name.
- Zorro. - Yes, Zorro.
Remember, 'Mask of Zorro'?
That's the inspiration for the name.
Okay, this is an anonymous platform
for everybody to talk about anything under the sun.
Period.
Can you explain it further?
What do you mean by anonymous?
What do you mean by pseudonymous?
Anonymous means not knowing the name or identity.
Similarly, on our platform,
if you have a company
and create a private group joined by 40 people.
Now, those 40 people in the group
you're aware that they belong to your company.
But, you won't know the exact identity.
So, this is pseudonymity.
Yours is anonymous.
We have a pseudonymous platform.
When you join us, groups are our best feature.
Let me share some examples.
- Show us the product. - Yes.
When you join,
it asks you for
an OTP.
I will add my number.
It's a simple process.
We assign you a unique username.
You can change it, by the way.
Why did you sync the contact number? You're anonymous.
That's the point of being pseudonymous.
If I sync my contact number,
I know that I will find people in my contact.
- It's a pseudonymous network. - So, you will talk to them.
- Yes, you can choose that. - Yes, it's your choice.
On top, there's a Hot on Hood feature.
Trending topics on Twitter,
you can like or dislike things.
Groups created by you
or joined by you will appear in Your Groups category.
The popular groups come under the Hot Groups category.
Basically, there's a salary comparison group. Let me get in.
Look at what people have shared.
I work in SBI and earn more than 70,000
per month and other perks like petrol, furniture.
People have questioned whether they should pursue MBA or not.
People have answered it too.
How many people have answered it?
- There are 20 comments. - 20 is less!
We've just launched and not even started marketing it.
So, we launched in June.
Because we see that anonymity is the virality.
- We don't need to push it. - Okay.
So, we know that the product will take off.
After June, we did minimal marketing
and within 45 days
You didn't cover India yet. But you're jumping to the US.
After 10 million, we will target the second market.
What makes you come to a valuation of 600 crores?
Look at the velocity of our growth.
We had 500k users in 45 days.
We have raised 3.2 million or 23 crores already.
- What was the valuation for the last round? - 112 crores.
112 crores.
Be quick.
Globally, the valuation of all the products that exist
depends on two factors.
Okay.
Speed of growth.
- And... - Velocity and time.
The size of the target market
- and the velocity of your growth. - Okay.
So, there's no point in talking about revenue and profit.
- Let's talk about users. - Yes.
- Okay, thank you. - Certainly.
How many groups do you have and how many are onboarding yet?
We have 5000 groups on the platform as of now.
Total users?
Around 7.5 lakh users as of now.
- So, how much is that? - Around 2.40 lakhs.
- How many daily active users? - 60,000.
to 1,800 new posts.
I think it is close to 5 or 6.
That's it?
On average. Some get a zero response and others get more.
Just 6 responses. You need more traction per post
to achieve product-market fit.
Let me tell you honestly. The thing is,
because of growth in the last 45 days, the numbers aren't exact.
To tell you the average figure right now
could be for one-month-old data.
The way we are growing now,
our data after two months would be entirely different.
I don't like your answer.
If you are doing social networking,
the most important things are the responses
and engagement ratio for a particular post. Right?
You don't have a product-market fit until your post
gets tremendous engagement.
You run Gabbar Singh's page on Twitter. How many likes do you get
on one post?
Around...
- Please share the figures. - We get 60 to 70 replies at least.
If we compare this platform, these numbers are minuscule.
There is a reason. Actually, we are still growing on this platform.
Amit, basically, they want to say that they are new
- and it will happen later. - Please don't be overconfident.
You need to slog. It's too tough to create a social network.
- Very few people have succeeded. - Yes!
- That's right. - That's true.
The way you are portraying it,
I think you need to rethink.
I agree it's tough. That's why we came here. I'm visiting colleges.
Next week, I'm going to IIM Ahmedabad to tell them
about our future course of action.
You are compelled to go to colleges
to market yourself. Don't you think there's something amiss
as a social network company
is compelled to go to a college to market its platform?
I'm not marketing. I'm going there to give a lecture.
But why?
If your platform is capable enough,
it should go viral.
Please tell me how you plan
to make your platform go viral as in viral marketing.
What are the features you have thought of to make it go viral?
Proof, basically.
Suppose a company has 20 employees in a group.
When 20 people interact with each other,
the 21st person
would be compelled to join because of the fear of missing out.
- His question is how you will attract them. - I'll ask you again.
Simply answer his question.
What is the viral coefficient?
Virality coefficient... There's one person who will attract three more.
- Does he attract as of now? - Yes, as of now.
Your growth should have gone through the roof.
You said that you have a particular number of downloads.
You should have been way ahead.
The numerator is less as our reach is limited.
Not many people know about this app.
Their answer to every question is that they are new.
I think
yours is a pre-product-market fit company.
You have
come here for marketing.
Only for marketing and that's it.
Because asking Rs. 1.2 crores at 0.2% equity is a joke.
Why do you want Sharks? There are already 20 unicorn founders.
I think
you just want to transform your business into a unicorn start-up.
That's your only purpose.
Anonymous networks are dead.
No government in the world will allow anonymous networks
except the dark web.
[sweeping music]
Pseudonymous networks already exist
in the form of Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram,
Quora
and Reddit.
There is no use case
so I'm out. Good luck!
You asked for a valuation of Rs. 600 crores.
First, you need a reality check.
What your valuation is and what your value proposition is.
Your answer to every question is, "we are still new"
but you want a valuation of Rs. 600 crores.
Your mind is full
of misconceptions.
[sweeping music]
And for that reason, I don't want to be a part of your journey
- and I'm out. - Thank you!
[dramatic music]
No viral social network has been made in India till now.
It doesn't mean it won't be built in the future.
I want to know the action plan
that would help you succeed.
I think our determination
and
our mission
which we have been trying to achieve for the last ten years.
We have a great team.
We have been working for 12 years and we write daily on our page.
We saw everyone's experiences and read their comments.
We used our learning to build this.
After we launched in June,
we had nearly 1 lakh users.
If you check today,
we have grown seven times in 45 days.
I got your point.
Please tell them your decision. I'll get back to them.
I had a conviction about your idea.
[dramatic music]
But
the thing is, I don't see humility in you.
A founder is humble enough to learn.
I asked you a relevant question about your virality coefficient.
You don't know it but you keep repeating that you grew seven times.
Please don't be in a state of euphoria.
Please slow down. You must check the right figures daily.
If you don't check these figures daily,
you won't be able to build a network.
For these reasons, I want to be out
but I wish you all the best.
Thank you. [sweeping music]
I liked all of you.
Anupam commented something
but I don't agree with him.
He said
that you are in a hurry to become a unicorn start-up. That's harmless.
I don't think you're overconfident.
I think you're confident and confidence is not a bad thing.
[dramatic music]
But a valuation of Rs. 600 crores is beyond my comprehension.
[dramatic music]
Who is the CEO?
I'm the CEO.
Aman, what is your opinion?
I want to invest.
I want to invest too
but I have a concern. I won't reprice this company.
I can come as a part of the last round.
Yes. Me too!
I know that your concepts aren't stable right now.
Aman and I will discuss the figures
but that's our only condition. There's no other condition.
[dramatic music]
The way Aman welcomed you to Shark Tank,
I didn't expect he'd make an offer.
It's like
a complete U-Turn.
Aman and I will give you Rs. 60 lakhs
for equity. Each of us will give you Rs. 30 lakhs.
We'll give you Rs. 60 lakhs debt as and when you need.
The interest rate for the debt would be 12%.
We'll match the valuation of the last round
which means approximately 0.54% equity.
- Okay. Can we buy one minute? - Hurry up!
Alright.
How can they take debt? They don't earn money.
If we accept as per the last round, it'd be difficult to raise again.
It's a small amount. We can recover through marketing.
There is a chance that it's refused.
Before coming to Shark Tank, they had a past.
Now if he is trying to do something new,
I just wanted to help. I felt nice about it.
And I had a liking for them.
You had a calling.
[dramatic music]
Thank you, Peyush and Aman.
- Thank you, guys. - Best of luck!
Bye! Thank you, everyone!
[motivational music]
It was in July.
I wanted to apply for Shark Tank.
I missed the deadline of 12 am.
I had 0.1% hope
so I decided to go ahead. Let's try!
[inspirational music]
'Greetings, Sharks! We are the cofounders of Let's Try.'
'When my son was detected with Thalassaemia Major, '
'I focused on feeding him healthy snacks.'
'If we get his gene therapy done within ten years, '
'he can recover fully.'
'- But we needed Rs. 9 crores to Rs. 10 crores for that. - Oh my God!'
'We started everything at my dad's request.'
'He insisted that Goransh must get treatment.'
'We accepted the fact that we might not get Goransh treated.'
'For this reason, we Kalras started Let's Try.'
'Aman, do you want to close it at 12%?'
'I'm ready to do that.'
'Sharks, we accept your deal.'
'It's one of my best deals.'
When our show got aired,
we got responses from all over India.
and also packed them.
We are expanding our set-up. Our operations are up by four times.
Our team comprises 70 members.
Our company reached a valuation of Rs. 60 crores.
and use it for Goransh's treatment.
My entrepreneurship drive is inherited from my mom 100%.
'She built a business from scratch to raise us.'
have been fulfilled now.
I don't remember if I ever hugged my father.
So I recently hugged my mom.
I simply feel that my late father
is
Watching from somewhere above
and he's fulfilling all my wishes.
If your purpose is strong,
you'd try to make effort even after being rejected
99 times. "Let me try once more."
We boarded a flight and the flight's name was Shark Tank.
[mellow music]
[music playing]
- Hello, Sharks! - Greetings!
Whenever we talk about food, our eyes sparkle with joy.
[music playing]
Because food is something
that involves all our senses.
[music playing]
That's why we've brought an interesting experience for you.
Very good!
Whether it's a 5-year-old or an 80-year-old,
everybody loves three things a lot.
Entertainment, entertainment, and entertainment.
We're entertaining and delicious too.
[music playing]
So, Sharks, I'm Manmeet Batra.
Wow.
Our ice creams are made of 100% goat milk.
Our product line is not limited to ice creams.
We make baklavas, middle-eastern and Turkish coffee,
Our journey started in 2016, when we were in Istanbul.
Today, we have 37+ stores in 15+ cities.
- Wow! - Wow.
Our vision
is to take this interesting experience to everyone.
To spread joy in every city.
Sharks, our ask is Rs. 1 crore for 2.5% equity.
We were learning textile design.
And we went to Turkey for a holiday.
And then we got this to India.
- Were your batchmates? - Yes.
We were school friends and
- then we were... - So, you're school friends.
Right, we're childhood friends.
Do you have any other experience?
No, this was the first.
We started at the age of 18.
I was 17 and he was 18.
- Okay. - Wow.
Our spirit was that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
- Oh. - India is changing.
That's it!
You started at 17 and 18. We started late.
What's your age now?
As of now, I'm 24 and he's 23.
- Oh! - Wow!
Did you like the ice cream more or the performance?
The performance is a crowd-puller for us.
- Okay. - But in the longer run,
the ice cream is something that we can rely on.
Because our return customer base is dependent on that.
And that is how we grow.
Good thinking.
But when you talk about 37 stores,
are they kiosks in the mall
or proper stores like Haldiram?
Or a dining experience? What's the format?
So, we have three kinds of format.
A kiosk
which ranges from 100 to 200 sq. ft.
Then we have a store format.
It ranges between 250 to 300 sq. ft.
And then we have the cart model
what's the distribution of kiosks, stores, and carts?
25 kiosks, 4 stores,
- and the remaining are carts. - Alright, the remaining.
Earlier, we had to go to Turkey
to enjoy this.
Now, there are videos on social media
- and people must be promoting it. - Yeah, right.
That's how you created the pull.
But, anybody can do it.
Yes, truly.
In Dubai, there are
ten people doing this then how did nobody copy it yet?
[music playing]
In India, we're the pioneers.
We have been doing it from start.
Are you still the only one despite 37 outlets?
[music playing]
Is there no competitor in this market?
There are local brands working in their cities
by purchasing ice creams from local third parties.
So, it's not genuine.
Not using any authentic ice creams.
There's no authenticity.
- We want to have ice cream. - Will you give us ice cream?
Sure, come and experience it.
I'll tell you something surprising.
A few moments back Amit told me
that he used to serve Turkish ice-creams.
[comical music]
Many years ago.
Hello! [foreign language]
He would surely catch hold of it.
He won't be able to.
I guarantee you. He is experienced so he'll surely catch it.
Please show it to me.
[clinking]
I'll be able to catch it.
- This is your ice-cream. - Whoa!
- Won't you serve me? - Jeez!
Yes, baby! Ice-cream!
- Gosh! - Oh!
[clinking]
I got an empty cone.
[laughing]
Oh my God!
- Either you'll serve too much or too less. - Baby, this is your...
I'm sorry! Your ice-cream is this!
[foreign language]
You don't want to serve me the ice-cream.
I'm sorry! This is your ice-cream, sir.
[foreign language] Try!
Try! Try! Yes. Maybe this.
I hope somebody didn't thrash him.
- No. Not until now. - It never happened till now.
We buy life insurance policies for all.
That's good.
[comical music]
If I'm hungry and somebody teases me this way, I'd hit them.
- This is your ice-cream, sir. - Thank you so much!
- Thank you! - Oh my God!
I'll catch your ice-cream in just one attempt.
- Okay, sir. - Please come, sir.
Let's do it.
We'll face each other now.
Let there be a competition.
- Woo-hoo! - All the best!
- Uh-oh! - Ahoy!
Come on, Anupam!
Maybe this. Come on!
Give me the ice-cream!
Uh-oh!
- You won the gift. - Woo-hoo!
Good one! By hook or by crook!
Now I'll get the equity for free, right?
I'll own a cart.
[carnival music]
- The one you served me is rose and pistachio flavour. - Yes.
What other flavour do you have?
- We have more than 45 flavours. - Please serve them.
Rose and pistachio, lemon cookies,
chocolate and honeycomb. Mango and jalapeno.
These are our ice-creams.
As you can see, we have baklavas too.
We also serve Turkish coffee and a range of Middle Eastern teas too.
[upbeat music]
How much does one ice-cream cost?
without experience.
Didn't you face any difficulty in starting your business?
- We faced difficulties. - We faced difficulties but God was kind.
We kept overcoming difficulties.
- We went to Turkey to get trained. - Wow!
We learnt and then trained people here
so that we aren't dependent.
Very nice.
I understand that you learned the skills
but what about business operations?
What difficulties did you face in the beginning?
We needed real estate in the beginning.
- We needed permission in malls. - Yes!
We faced several problems and obstacles.
We launched our first store at Elante Mall, Chandigarh.
We opened it in 2017
and then we never looked back.
[triumphant music]
We expanded our stores to Surat,
Mumbai
and we also got real estate in Delhi.
How many people do you have in your team?
The total employees of outlets, office and manufacturing are 240.
- You two are cofounders. - Right!
- What's the equity split between you two? - It's fifty-fifty.
We are bootstrapped.
So you are a bootstrapped company.
What is your role in the company?
- Manufacturing and dispatch. - Manufacturing and R&D.
So you manufacture it in your factory.
We do manufacturing in our plant at Kirti Nagar, Delhi.
get stock delivery
within 72 hours from Delhi.
- How did you learn to manage? - I agree.
- It's amazing. - Unbelievable.
You toiled and learned so much. Kudos!
Do you own those 37 outlets?
Earlier, we granted a franchise.
But since the end of 2021, all the stores are company-owned.
Because they wouldn't spend enough on their staff
- and the maintenance of the outlet. - Correct.
Sometimes, they would try to use third-party ice creams.
So, we spent most of our time correcting them.
You learnt that too.
[music playing]
- Strong fundamentals! - Amazing!
It's a good point.
- You learnt it soon. - When you build it from scratch,
- you tend to learn a lot. - Yeah.
What is the unit of economics of a cart?
A kiosk of 150 sq. ft., for the company,
takes around 12-14 lakhs to be ready.
[music playing]
CapEx or capital expenditure
are expenses that a company makes in long-term assets.
For example, plant, machinery, and IT.
And OpEx or operational expenditure
are everyday expenses of the company
like marketing, people cost, etc.
[music playing]
The CapEx is 12-14 lakhs for a cart. What's the unit economics?
Correct.
So the monthly average sale of every kiosk and store
is around 14-16 lakhs of sales.
- Per annum? - Per month.
Wow!
Give me the details of 14-16 lakhs, please.
For example, if we assume,
that our store makes a sale of 15 lakhs.
In that, our rent amount
- 10%. - Yes.
It's very good. And?
then within that,
What's the final profit in hand?
Easily, for a store.
Your total sales are around 3.5 to 4 crores, right?
Our monthly sales are around 2.5 to 2.75 crores.
[music playing]
Last year, the total sales were around 5 crores.
Until then, we were just into franchise stores.
We weren't into company-owned stores.
How many locations can you cover in India?
Easily around 150 stores.
150 stores.
Four times the current number.
So, right now, the sales are around 30 crores.
Let's say, sales will be worth 100 crores.
You will earn a profit of around 20 crores.
What's the plan after that?
The further plan is that if we see the demand
then we will explore further
in Turkish and middle eastern food chain.
You will start a new brand.
We will add on.
As a new brand?
- After a very long time. - As a new brand?
Yeah.
What do you want from us? You have everything.
We offer guidance
or assist in branding
or technology maybe.
- Or maybe teach nothing. - The more the merrier.
In our current business,
if someone associates with us, we will grow more.
Let me tell you honestly. I'm learning from you.
I have nothing to teach you.
I just need your support.
- I will support you. - That's all we want.
I will share my decision with you.
I want to associate with you.
But I don't want you to take the money.
[inspirational music]
If you insist that I come even if you don't get money
- and somebody gives you an offer... - We want only you.
If another Shark gives you an offer, I'll join them.
I'll join their deal.
My friend, let me tell you my decision.
I have a feeling
that your pitch on Shark Tank is questionable.
You are a good businessman who has made a mark.
You'd surely succeed.
I think your strength is that
you successfully finish what you start.
It's very heart-warming
but I don't understand how you will use the investment
and how I will help you.
I didn't like the products so much.
For these two reasons, I'll be out today.
[sweeping music] Thank you so much!
I want to say that you shouldn't raise money.
That's my advice to you.
Why are you diluting your equity?
If an investor comes, he'd ask for an exit.
You'll face many issues. You are making a good profit.
To be honest, you are running your business at ground level.
You know it all.
As you came to Shark Tank, your marketing will improve.
- Right? - That's right.
I want to be out for this reason.
I feel that you shouldn't seek investment.
My decision is the same.
Genuinely, I don't think you need money as it'd dilute your equity.
- We will always be there for you as mentors. - Thank you!
- Thank you so much. - But let's not be investors today.
One Shark is not fully in. Three Sharks are out and one is left.
What are the things you won't do in this business?
Right from the start,
our family cautioned us that before borrowing money,
plan how you'd serve them
to satisfy them and then take a cheque.
[ethereal music]
After taking money, we would be
- obligated. We're at an early stage. - One shouldn't cheat.
We don't want to go astray.
[ethereal music]
You're doing everything right in your business
and I like your value system the most.
You said something great, "we don't want to cheat."
That's the most important thing for me.
I think your fundamentals are strong.
You could face challenges in scaling up and building defensibility.
Your product has a novelty
which will decrease gradually. You must be careful and plan in advance.
My offer for you is Rs. 50 lakhs
for 10% equity and Rs. 50 lakhs in debt.
This offer will be shared fifty-fifty between Aman and me.
[suspenseful music]
- No. But still, it's our duty... - You may invest if you want to.
- You have expertise. - I'm telling them not to dilute.
You are talented and have expertise.
Even if you don't accept my deal, I'll always wish the best for you.
We are retailers so if you need help
in entry to malls, I can help you enter any mall in India.
- Good. - Now please decide.
[sweeping music]
Thank you so much for your offer, sir.
You are very kind
and it was nice meeting all of you but
- we can't accept this offer. - I understand.
Well done!
- But I'll ask for your support when we need it. - We knew it.
Alright! Thank you, guys! Bye!
- Thank you so much! - Thank you, sir!
Thank you! Best of luck.
[inspirational music]
[ethereal music]
[dramatic music]
Sharks, India is an agricultural country.
Our production capacity is so good
that we export grains to other countries.
Do you know
how meagre our yield is as compared to other countries?
For instance,
India and China grow 60 lakh tons
of cotton per year.
India needs
1.25 crore hectares-field to do that
but China needs just one-fourth of that area.
It means they just require 30 lakh hectares-field.
That's because China
has a plethora of options in technology for farming.
India is changing rapidly
and start-ups are using technology
to solve the problems in farming.
Greetings, Sharks! I'm Saurabh Agarwal.
GROWiT is a brand
use this farming technique.
Only 2% of farmers know about this technology in India.
Our products ensure
that water, pesticide
and fertiliser consumption in the fields is less than 50%,
they save the produce from sunburn and rusting
and stop weed growth.
and the farmer's income
from 50% to 100%.
in four states.
Our vision is to make every Indian farmer
aware of protective farming
and deliver our products to them.
Sharks, our ask is Rs. 1 crore
Please increase our profit too.
Akshay and Saurabh,
welcome to Shark Tank.
Protective farming is all the more important.
You said water, pesticide and fertiliser usage will reduce by 50%.
- Yes. - It means it's a scientific product.
- My mom has a huge farm and she does these things herself. - Okay.
What scientific knowledge did you use? What work experience
or education background is it based on?
Sharks, both of us are third-generation entrepreneurs.
I pursued my graduation at Cardiff University, UK.
And I completed my MBA at SP Jain College, Mumbai.
I pursued my bachelor's and master's degree
in Plastics Engineering in the US.
From the University of Massachusetts, near Boston.
- So you two are brothers related by blood. - Yes. Related by blood.
Ooh! You don't resemble each other at all.
How did you get the knowledge of agriculture?
My hobby is to do farming at my home.
I decided to grow whatever we eat at our home.
So we started farming at a small level.
My interest in farming increased
so we decided to study
the available technologies in farming
to improve our farm.
We realised that some technologies weren't available in India.
We went to Europe, the US, and China
and brought those products to India.
We used those products on our farm but they weren't effective.
Later on, as Akshay has an engineering background,
I think he can explain better.
He handed the products to me
and asked me to check them as they were made of plastic.
I did some R&D and made some products too.
When we successfully used them on our farms,
- we gave those machines to farmers for trial. - Okay!
When they gave a positive response, we thought of
expanding this business pan-India
so that it brings about a revolution.
Where is your farm?
- Surat. - Surat.
I'm not interested in farming
- but in product development. - You want to make money.
[laughing]
What is your invention?
I'd like to share some case studies.
You can see that cotton is being grown here
without a mulching film
but it is being grown here with mulching film.
Due to this reason, the numbers shown at the bottom
reflect that the income of farmers has almost doubled.
Is it an average figure or a top success story?
No. It's an average figure.
Because on average, there can be
- a 5% to 10% variation depending on farming practice. - Okay.
What is a mulching film?
What is it made of?
- It's made of plastic. - Plastic!
Currently, the sale of mulching
is around Rs. 450 crores to Rs. 500 crores in India.
When you say this to farmers, are they convinced by you?
Yes. If we convey this to farmers properly,
they definitely agree as they are highly adaptive.
We have made demo farms too.
We have made more than 70 demo farms in every administrative district.
You may see a model of such a farm.
[ethereal music]
- This is mulching, right? - Yes.
- This is mulching. - Yes.
And this is a weed mat.
As you can see, these are weeds.
They are also called wild grass.
It's meant for that because it robs the soil of its nutrition.
- And this is cover. - Yes.
- Just three products. - No. We have many products
- but we don't show everything in a demo farm. - You just show three.
Got it!
Sir, can we take it?
Sir, we brought them for you.
[ethereal music]
You lessened our burden.
[chuckling]
Please reduce your valuation by half for us.
Are all your products
included in this? Or do you have more products?
We have 18 products in total and all of them are included in it.
- It has a drawer. - There's a drawer at the base.
- You made it meticulously. It's lovely. - Your presentation is good.
Don't you think that in case plastic is banned,
it could create a problem for you?
We used some additives to make these after R&D
and ensure that the film lasts even after the harvest of the crop.
We are the first company in India
who buy back this film.
We launched just six months ago
and we did a buyback
of Rs. 40 lakh worth of films and recycled them.
You still didn't tell us the cost of mulching.
Farmers spend Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 15,000
You mean
the cost of mulching is recovered by the advantage they get.
- Exactly! - Are these benchmark figures?
- Of course! - Yes!
Amazing!
Is there a product out of 18 products
which has a sale between 30% to 70%
of your entire business?
Currently, mulching films sell for around 80%.
Our last year's sale was Rs. 20 crores.
- Oh! - Well done!
- is the peak season. - What will be your sale by the year-end?
How much are you expecting?
- We expect to sell for around Rs. - 35 crores to Rs. 40 crores. - Wow!
- give the highest revenue. - It's the rainy season now.
How much did you earn in both halves last year in Rs. 20 crores?
We earned just Rs. 6 crores in the first half.
- And you earned Rs. 14 crores in the other half. - Yes.
- Almost 2.5 times. - The same thing would be repeated.
My friend, you are selling mulching film
or plastic paper
or whatever for Rs. 2 crores every month.
Amazing! You've come a long way.
- I was... - Shall I make an offer?
[music playing]
Yes, hear her offer first and we shall talk.
Firstly, I'm very interested in this area.
Because like I said, I've grown up seeing my mom.
The most attractive thing to me
is that 80% of sales are from mulching.
And these 18 products,
you know what we call life cycle management.
A farmer at some point has to use all 18.
Your cross selling opportunity...
Certainly.
...I found it very attractive because
if it's 80% mulching
then to those farmers
we can cross-sell the rest of the products.
Yes.
The bottom line is that I want to be a part of your story.
I think I can help you.
I want to offer 50 lakhs in equity,
for 1% equity.
I'm holding your valuation at 50 crores.
- Oh, wow! - 50% debt at 10% interest.
He's so irritating.
He always interrupts because he thinks I'll keep quiet.
But I won't be quiet. You keep quiet!
- [laughs] - Now, listen to my offer.
I'm open to negotiation.
You're turning into a dolphin from a shark.
I'm becoming a dolphin because it's a good cause.
And I believe in the purpose.
But, I think 50 crores valuation is fair.
She doesn't care about the profit.
She doesn't care about the unit of economics.
No, I love what you're doing.
- Your profit doesn't matter to me. - I need to know your profit.
We are expecting 60% sales from B2B businesses.
D2C, a franchise model.
What is the margin in this?
22% gross profit.
How much do you earn?
On the other side, for our work on awareness creation,
we have to spend a lot on marketing and branding.
So, we are EBITDA positive there, but PAT is negative.
- So, fertilisers... - What's the loss?
Uh, last year, we burnt 1.5 crores.
What about this year?
This year, so far, we
What about equity?
So, we diluted 6% to raise 3 crores at 50 crores valuation.
We hold the rest of the equity.
In the family.
What do you mean by within the family?
We and our mother.
- How's the split? 30 each? - Yes, one-third.
Very good.
Anupam asked you that from the 14 crores
how much will you burn this year?
This year, we will burn around
4-5 crores.
- Wow! - You're at loss this year.
[music playing]
So, next year,
if we make 100 crores,
6 crores will be the EBITDA margin.
2 to 3 crores will be the PAT margin.
So you will start earning when you reach 100 crores.
He's still mentioning 1-2% PAT.
It's a good purpose.
I didn't like the business model much.
[music playing]
I think when the business grows
and reaches 5000 crores
there will be many players like DeHaat, AgroStar.
They will sell and commoditize you.
You're already commoditized with a margin of 1-2%.
So, I'm out but you're headed in the right direction
- and I hope something works out. - Thank you.
All the best.
I agree with Anupam.
I don't see any defensibility.
So, the business won't be commoditised.
Secondly, such a low margin despite so much work.
I don't understand how I will make money as an investor.
So, I'm out. But, all the best.
Thank you.
I'm out too.
But you must try
to reach mobile shops
where farmers get prepaid stuff.
You have to somehow
study the awareness models more.
You have to find out how the rest are doing it.
How they're reaching out to so many farmers.
So, that will be my suggestion
to go deeper into more avenues
for reaching the farmer.
Hmm.
Tell me something.
What's your vision for the next five years? What will be the impact?
In the next five years,
doubling farmer's output and income
that is what GROWiT wants to be known for
- through protective farming. - However.
Okay. At what scale?
We will generate 300 crores of revenue.
Revenue of 300 crores.
What will be the PAT?
Around 22-24 crores PAT.
Say whatever you wish. Who knows the future?
No, it's our calculation.
If you wish, we can share the sheets.
You're thinking small.
You're talented.
- You've studied well. - With your help, we can grow.
You're so qualified. You've even done MBA.
You're building a good business.
In the next five years in India,
if you're making 30 crores now
you should not make anything less than 1000 crores.
- That's why we're here. - It will happen.
We won't make any profit if you build a 300-crore business.
Who will exit?
You have to plan the strategy.
I would like to make an offer, if Namita accepts.
- I will join her. - Let's do it together.
- Same valuation. - Yeah.
who are very passionate
- about this sector. - Definitely.
And honestly, not as a shark,
I'm telling you rationally that it's a great offer.
In terms of valuation.
Firstly, thank you, Namita and Peyush for the offer.
- Can we counter it? - No.
- Yes, do it. - No.
- Do it. - It's your right.
So, since we raised funds on 50 crores valuation last time,
can we consider a valuation of 75 crores?
I'll tell you something. You have a loss-making business.
When we went deep,
even this year, you will be making a loss.
As a principle,
I rarely invest in cash-burn businesses.
It's a fair valuation.
1% won't give any return.
- It's a fair offer. - It's a long-term play.
It's a fair offer.
This or that?
- Take it. - This or that?
[music playing]
- Let's do it. - Woah!
- love your enthusiasm. - Thank you.
- GROWiT. - Thank you.
Peyush, thank you for not fighting with me today.
I must thank you.
- Thank you, guys. - Thank you.
All the best, guys!
- Good deal, P! - See!
In today's Shark Xperience, Namita,
Sakshi from Pune has a question.
Sometimes, I feel that I'm not a good entrepreneur.
Do you ever have self-doubt?
How do I tackle it?