[music playing]
'Joining the Sharks on Shark Tank India'
'is the Co-Founder and Chairperson of upGrad,'
'Ronnie Screwvala.'
[keys clanking]
[footsteps approaching]
- Nice. - Yes.
- You've settled in now, right? You've gotten comfortable. - Yes...
- Pretty sure you have. - I've gotten comfortable.
They've been very easy.
Nice. Very nice.
- It's a beautiful set I think. - Yes.
It looks good too.
[theme music playing]
[music fades]
Hi, Sharks.
Have you ever seen a goat having cow's milk
or a camel having donkey's milk?
Humans are the only species in the entire world
that drink the milk of other animals.
It is said
- that humans don't need milk after a certain age. - That's right.
Yet humans have been consuming milk daily for years
thinking that it contains calcium.
Sharks, about 70% of the population is unaware
A healthy and sustainable alternative to it
is plant-based milk.
People didn't like its taste much either.
Its functionality was extremely poor too
as the milk could curdle while boiling or cooking it.
Sharks, while studying in the US,
we tried some of the best plant-based products.
We wanted Indians to get to taste those products too.
We returned and started AltCo.,
At AltCo., we sell all-dairy.
Our all-dairy range contains Oat Milk,
but is just like milk in terms of taste and nutrition.
You can make your coffee, tea, 'kheer' and pasta.
Our second segment, which is our new segment,
is our plant-based protein.
In this segment, we have plant-based protein powder,
After Covid,
the awareness around healthy products has increased.
AltCo. wishes to be at the forefront of this movement.
AltCo. envisions to give Indians
products that are better for you and the planet.
Sharks, we request you to try our milk products.
[light-hearted music playing]
Thank you, man. You brought a category for me!
[light-hearted music playing]
For you, we've got...
- Cold coffee? - Hot coffee with our Oat Milk.
This is to see the packaging.
- This oat drink is very nice. - Yes, it's very nice.
- How much is this box for? - Rs. 299.
My brother-in-law is lactose-intolerant.
My husband has been advised no gluten and dairy.
Do you have your own manufacturing plant?
Our company is based in Bengaluru
Then this goes to a big factory for co-packing
and it is then co-packed in Tetra Pak cartons.
Are you a marketing company or manufacturing and marketing?
but he's the bigger marketing brain.
He's the bigger brain.
I asked because this is an edible and kids are going to have it.
As far as alternative dairy products go,
you said you're the largest player.
What's the estimate of the market size
- in India as well as in the US? - Correct, ma'am.
The market size in India...
It's still a nascent market in India.
Plant-based dairy and protein
together would be around Rs. 1,000 crores.
It's called Oatly.
Oatly, that's right.
What's the shelf life of your products?
The shelf life of our milk products is approximately 12 months
As a mother of a young child,
when I read the ingredients,
I see refined coconut oil,
I see sunflower oil and others on this.
Can you explain that?
As a mother who doesn't understand dairy,
I get a little nervous on reading all this.
Ma'am, we use these oils to lend creaminess to the milk.
Not just we,
all the players in the market be it America, UK or India,
everybody uses good quality oil.
Don't you think that the concept of oil in milk
will cause the consumer to worry a little?
Earlier, alternative milk contained many ingredients
- like gums and emulsifiers. - Hmm.
We went a step ahead and made a clean label
which is free of gums and emulsifiers.
That can be done too,
but the process will take a while to adapt in India.
We wish to move on to that.
The FSSAI guidelines say
- This one says milk. - It's a drink.
It's spelled 'm-l-k'. We just did a wordplay there.
- It says mlk! - I know.
- Your packaging is a little disparate when it comes to... - Yes.
- It's a little... - Mlk...
Across the world, from a legal standpoint,
you cannot use the word 'milk'.
That is why a lot of brands have taken the word milk
off their packaging
and are marketing it as a drink.
If you call this an oat drink,
you'll need to head in a completely new direction
namely category creation.
- Correct. - When you say oat milk,
you are already in the category.
- That's a different step for the customer, right? - Yes.
It is more challenging.
How will you counter it?
The consumers are fairly educated on the subject.
We need to put in a little more effort...
Is going with just 'mlk' okay?
Is it kosher or will it be a problem going forward?
A problem might arise
because you cannot display it saying...
The tagline here says
'Mlk that's not milk'.
And that is a slightly trick tagline.
Overall, the category is developing.
- Doctors recommend it. - That's true.
People are reading about it.
People on social media tell you what works and what doesn't.
We first became distributors for a big company.
We began distributing to a lot of cafes in India and others.
We launched the first oat milk
and the big company suddenly ceased the distribution.
After that,
we had to immediately begin making India's first oat milk
from scratch within three months.
From developing the milk to packaging it, everything.
Then we introduced a couple of improvements.
You could benchmark our product against any international product.
Where did you get the capital?
You developed the product and said you launched it in a big way.
Where did you get the funds?
Initially, we were bootstrapped.
Then we raised a round of funds.
How much and at what valuation? Tell us the history.
How much money did you put into the business?
We invested Rs. 2 crores each.
What's the cap of the floor?
- We set a formula for that. - Okay.
Three months average GMV
times three of the average monthly revenue x 12.
Is it all gone or...
We have Rs. 2.5 crores in the bank right now.
Why don't you run us through your revenue and cost structure?
and what do you expect to do this financial year?
Here's our unit economics.
What's the percentage?
I put it in other operational expenditure.
That line item didn't come up yet.
You must be about to run out of money.
- How much are you left with? - Rs. 2 crores.
No, but they're burning Rs. 45 lakhs a month.
See, I think your success is going to come when you make a market
and create this category in India.
I think the maximum help you're going to need
is for market-making.
You've to create and build a market,
and for that, one of the key ingredients is going to be
that you'll need money.
You will become profitable.
When you create a market,
you can't think of that and profitability on the same day.
So, what are your plans for growth? What's your ambition?
Our ambition, of course, is growth
but we don't wish to achieve growth by burning more money.
Our target is to reach breakeven
within the next eight to ten months.
So, breakeven and market creation are not connected.
If you're making a product,
and if it's a good product, which we all think it is,
we'll have to make something of it.
For that, you need a heart of a different nature
and you need a thinking of a slightly different nature.
Are you building this company for the investors,
consumers or yourself?
All three I guess.
- All three! - [laughs]
[Sharks laugh]
As a mother when I see ingredients like oil and all in a product,
and this quasi-milk...
This confusing communication to a consumer,
with kids consuming the product
in a category around trust,
I feel a little nervous about that.
I really think that
trust, especially in such a business,
is quite an important tenant.
So, please follow my advice and think about it.
For that reason, I'm out.
For me, the most important part is what are the future plans
and I'm not getting your full vision.
Without category building, it won't go very far.
For that reason, I'm out.
I feel that somewhere
the ability to just sell your vision or clarity of vision is not there.
In my opinion, you should get a strategic investor at this stage
or a large institutional investor
- because this needs a heavy capital of Rs. 50 to 100 crores... - True.
Who has done this business.
Maybe, someone who's seen it in the US
and can be with you long-term.
I don't think I can add that value. So, I'm out.
There exists a confusion in India.
People don't know what lactose-intolerant means.
- They're just getting to know. - Yes.
So, it's quite early on.
You're too early and the market isn't ready for you.
I think for this reason, I will have to say no today.
I'm out.
Look. Here's the problem.
What you have to tell yourself is
- the best product does not win. - Correct.
Right? Take any industry.
You have to sell it.
So many food entrepreneurs
are entering the category of alternative milk
baring from small cities.
The difference will be in the team
that can sell this vision in a compelling way
and raise funds.
Right? I don't see that today.
Everybody's telling you that.
So, that's why even I'm out.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- See you, guys. - Thank you. Good luck.
Thank you.
[music fades]
[music playing]
Sharks, I've only heard one thing about chips to date.
Chips are bad for health.
Do you know that
eating chips also ruins the environment?
These chips packets
are multi-layered plastic
are either burning it
or changing its form to increase its shelf life.
And MLP is not only found in chips packets but also
in many day-to-day goods.
Annually, in India,
approximately 38 lakh tonnes of MLP is produced.
we have been researching on this problem.
And we have found a solution.
And our company Without
uses our patent-pending technology
But it's a strong proof of concept.
That we can properly recycle MLP too.
In India, more than 15 lakh
We formalise them in our company
and give them respectful jobs, thereby making their life better.
So, Sharks,
our company Without
is truly an impact-first start-up.
Those who are aligned with our long-term vision.
Our ask is
I wouldn't say no return.
- I'd say that respect... - I was just joking, Anish.
Welcome to Shark Tank.
- India, Season 3. - Thank you.
What is MLP?
Multi-layered plastic.
Chips packets. I can show you
that there's aluminium within
and a layer of plastic on the outside.
Then there are layers in between too.
So, it's impossible.
Why did you take this burden
of eradicating MLP from the world?
I was the youngest director in the company.
Which year are you talking about?
- 2016. - Okay.
I had everything, right? But I was feeling very depressed.
Something was missing.
Sounds cliche. But I decided
to use my privilege for a good cause.
And I think poverty is a manmade,
societal-based construct.
So, I decided to work on it.
I quit my job in New York.
And then I spent the next 3 years
learning how impact is created.
In December 2019,
I came back to India.
We have 1.5-4 million waste pickers in India.
50 to 80 per cent of the waste in India
goes untreated.
I researched that. It's coming to an end, I promise.
- I researched that. - [chuckling]
- And then I learnt
that this space lacks technology
that works on fundamentally
increasing the value of
unrecyclable waste.
So, we chose MLP.
Just one thing. This product could've gone anywhere.
Why sunglasses?
So, we researched how to increase the value of MLP.
We separated layers and created material.
Then we decided to sell this material.
But then you find out that nobody wants to
buy 5 or 10 kilos of material from you.
- Yeah. - Then we discussed 400 products
and shortlisted 70 out of them.
Put it through 27 different parameters like average Amazon
searches, Amazon margins,
team excitement, complexity,
we didn't want to make something simple.
So, sunglasses fit all those characters very well.
So, I've invested Rs 1.8 crores into it.
was a PhD in electrochemistry. Dr Jitendra Samdani, Jitu.
From a lab in Pune,
So, this is our lab in Pune.
Then we put it in an extruder
where it gets compounded and gives a filament like this.
Then we turn it into pellets.
[indistinct]
[music playing]
Nobody has tried this technology around the globe?
Or are you the first in India?
Nobody has done this yet.
Show us the samples because we'll get an idea of the finish
- and the print. - Yeah.
[music playing]
- What is this? - Coasters.
- Coasters? Okay. - Simple.
- Do you have a woman's product? - Yes.
- Right there. - I'll take that.
[music playing]
Your product is nice.
[music playing]
Are the glasses made out of it too?
No, the glasses are sourced.
The name and logo is pretty interesting.
Thank you.
What is the tonnage you consume in a year?
Tonnage? Nothing.
We are at R&D right now.
We were fund-raising, delivering orders,
we got 500 orders and it took us three months to deliver it.
Within 6 days, 500 sunglasses were sold out.
Our goal was to sell around 1000 sunglasses a month.
the most important thing that we're doing is
That's good.
So, the idea is to start
doing proofs of concept.
- So, I showed it. - I agree. Logical, smart move.
What was the last round raised at?
Okay.
And then the 1.4 million,
we have a lead investor, a non-binding term sheet
from a foundation based in the UK. We have it.
Because our goal for the next three years
is to establish this plant.
Then to multiply this across India,
across the world as quickly as possible.
And not just MLP.
MLP is our gateway drug.
Right? It's all plastics.
The market for plastics is massive.
And this is for-profit, that you're trying to build.
So, it's...
It's not... It's an impact-first startup.
And I cannot emphasize that enough.
[music playing]
We formed a private limited company
because I think it's a tool
to be able to move from A to B.
Private limited is faster, it's less bureaucratic than a non-profit.
And I can raise equity too.
I can't do that in a non-profit.
But you don't like profit.
When we talk of profit,
- Yeah. - your expression changes slightly.
You wince. What is the problem?
[music playing]
Frankly speaking,
you know, there's something in US called Patagonia.
- They do it, right? - Yes.
And people actually, if you talk about the young generation,
nobody would ask earlier that what are you doing for
sustainability or the environment.
There used to be a time when we would burst crackers,
today, our kids don't let us burst crackers. So,
Okay, I'll make you an offer.
Oh!
Rs 30 lakhs for 1 per cent.
to figure out which path to pick.
You've done a great done with the R&D.
I'm not able to validate that today.
Because you have created a proof of concept glasses.
But you don't have any other large clients
buying a lot of material from you, right?
So, Rs 75 crores
is very difficult.
Even Rs 64 crores is very difficult.
Uh, so I'm out. Good luck!
[music playing]
As an investor, I'm not sure how I'll make money at a
60-75 crores valuation.
So that's where I'm getting stuck.
For that reason, I'm out.
But genuinely great cause. Wish you the best of luck.
Thank you, Ma'am.
Firstly, I do like what you're doing.
What you're doing is real, in terms of measurability.
But the term sheet
can't create a benchmark.
Because I'm open to taking the bet.
But not on the basis of someone else's term sheet.
So, I'd like to make an offer for Rs 75 lakhs
If Ronnie wants to do this deal alone, I'll step out.
If you want another person in the deal, then I can join.
Are you making an offer or not?
And Aman has an offer of Rs 30 lakhs at 1 per cent.
Plus Rs 45 lakhs at 10 per cent interest for 2 years.
What's your decision?
[music playing]
Thank you, Aman, for your offer.
I'd love to supply you material for boAt.
I'd really love to go with you guys.
You guys are my dream Sharks so I
- really... - Done deal?
Done deal.
[music playing]
- Alright. - Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Catch you soon.
- All the best. Bye. - Thank you so much.
Good luck.
[music playing]
Thank you.
Greetings, my name is Kibo.
Greetings, Sharks.
My name is Akshita.
And my name is Bonny.
Sharks, can you close your eyes for a second?
Sure.
The paper that we just gave you,
read what's written on it without opening your eyes.
What you just experienced
is something that Dipali experienced a few years ago.
In 2009, 17-year-old Dipali
was pursuing BA in Marathi
when suddenly one day,
she lost her vision within a week.
[music playing]
The printed books that she had for BA
now had to be recorded into audio to be able to read it.
It used to take 4-6 weeks.
For one book of around 300 pages.
We decided that when Dipali goes to office,
who will give her official documents into Braille and audio books?
In India, there are more than 2 crore people like Dipali
To solve this problem, we created Kibo.
[music playing]
Our AI-powered, patented technology,
[music playing]
Greetings, Sharks. My name is Kibo.
The meaning of my name
is knowledge in a box.
we want your support
Firstly, tell me more about yourselves.
After completing my course, in 2017,
I applied for an incubation centre called Digital Impact Square.
And that's where I met Bonny.
I'm from Ahmedabad. I've done Mechanical Engineering.
We have complementary skill sets. Mechanical, computer science.
And in 2021, we got married.
- Very sweet. - Yeah.
Give us a demo.
For demo, we'd like to call our colleague,
- we spoke about her in the pitch. - Yes.
- Dipali. - Yes, please.
- I'd like to call her. - Sure.
[music playing]
- Greetings, Sharks. - Greetings!
My name is Dipali.
Hi, Dipali.
This is a Kibo XS Kit.
That you can see in my hand.
After you press it,
it takes the shape of a table lamp.
Secondly, you also get a USB cable along with a Kibo XS Kit.
To use Kibo, you don't need any software
Kibo's home page is now open.
I will capture it.
This is in English.
I can translate it to my preferred language.
Marathi.
Select button.
I've selected Marathi. Now,
I'll translate it.
[speaking in Marathi]
- Thank you very much. - Thank you so much.
Dipali, thank you for coming to Shark Tank.
You have a positive attitude.
So, very inspiring. Thank you so much.
Keep smiling.
Yes.
can read content received on their phones
such as PDF, Word files or image and audio books.
Is it the UX that you've made which looks like a lamp?
Is that your invention
- Our... - Then you wouldn't have had to come on Shark Tank.
[tense music playing]
Something is not adding up for me.
- Sir, actually... - You see, character recognition
is in every software in today's times.
Take enterprise software for instance,
billing or accounting software.
If your OCR is so strong,
then your use case is you can just license this, right?
The API and software licensing you spoke about
is exactly what we're doing right now.
Until now, our focus was
to set this up in schools, colleges and libraries.
Have you approached Google
and said, "I can do better OCR than you can."?
No, sir. We haven't gotten there yet.
Give us your numbers for revenue and pricing both.
- we charge Rs. 99,000 to every institution. - Wow!
- Rs. 3 crores. - Yes.
Give me a break-up of the Rs. 3-crore sales.
- 90% comes from B2B. - What's your B2B break up?
Yes. Some of those institutions buy XS,
- Yes, correct. - Yes, Rs. 99,000.
What's the split of the Kibo XS and the Kibo 360?
We launched the Kibo 360 in May.
So, the revenue from Kibo 360
is currently 10% of our total sales.
So, your revenue of Rs. 3.5 crores
has come from 300 clients.
- So, you have 300 small clients... - Yes.
Who will never be giving you further payment
- because they've only bought once. Is that right? - Yes.
See, that's the problem! That's the problem!
In India, the size of the BPO industry must be...
- I don't know, ¤ 100 billion? - Yes.
I believe out of that,
¤ 40 to 50 billion will be manpower.
If you manage to bring a 20% efficiency also
using your technology...
Let's say 10%, that's a ¤1 billion revenue company.
Yes.
If your tech really can do that,
why aren't you killing it there?
In the end...
When we started, our mindset was very narrow.
I mean, it was very focused.
When we saw the possibilities,
we realised what the implications exactly were,
and that it would have an inclusive impact.
Kibo is not a product for the visually impaired.
Kibo is an inclusive product...
- You're a tech company as you said.. - Yes, we're a tech company.
That's because I think in comparison to the partners,
especially Ronnie and Peyush together...
I hope they give you a good offer.
I will not add as much value to the deal.
I really think you ought to think about the commercial angle more.
All the best,
and now, we'll make sure you get a good offer.
The OCR tech you compared
was with the global giants.
This isn't their area of focus.
The areas they are focusing on
have brought far better OCR technologies.
- Today, this is what I feel. - Yes?
You own a small business
and it will sell within the same segment.
So, I don't see this becoming huge.
- The tech you're talking about is optimised tech. - Okay.
You asked for Rs. 60 lakhs for 1%.
and proposition into something big.
That's our offer.
Here's my advice to you.
Think big.
There are so many things you can do because your tech is good.
I would offer you
You had said
that you didn't come here just for the money.
For value-add also.
So, you'll have to do a little bit of...
You have to see who will be able to add value.
Don't restrict yourself.
I can help you broaden the vision.
Secondly, your valuation is bad.
If you want, I'll give you an even better offer.
We'll just be back.
- May we... - Please.
- Take your time. - Thank you.
[suspenseful music playing]
'Hello...'
Yes, sir.
- They'll optimise for the valuation. - Not for the reason..
- They should... - They'll go with valuation.
Let's counter it for 1.5%.
Rs. 30 crores.
[suspenseful music playing]
- Greetings! - Hello.
So, what will it be?
We will not be able to do 10% equity.
[tense music playing]
Our counteroffer is, for all three,
I think now you're thinking on the right lines.
You should 100% not go with a valuation of Rs. 5 to 6 crores.
Fight for it, but I am out as I can't go with 1.5% equity.
Guys, for 1.5%,
the stage at which your business is right now,
does not make much sense.
You've to make a better counter
for this to work.
[sombre music playing]
[mumbling]
Rs. 60 lakhs for 5% equity.
[suspenseful music playing]
- Shall we? - Okay.
Okay, guys.
[camera shutter clicking]
- All the best. - Thank you.
[music fades]