Anupam Mittal and Vineeta Singh shed light on the negative side of the show and reveal how founders back out of deals.
With Shark Tank India Season 4 set to premiere in January 2025, the fans are excited to see what new innovations and products this season will bring. As the show approaches, the Sharks have been busy with promotions. Anupam Mittal and Vineeta Singh were spotted at the event for the same when they shared some loopholes the show has. The duo released that these loopholes, particularly benefit founders as they back out of the deals made on the show. They revealed that founders at times sign the deal for the sake of getting some air time to promote their businesses. They also shared that the deals made on the show are very different from those negotiated in the real world.
The founder of People Group, Anupam Mittal, and co-founder of Sugar, Vineeta Singh, sat down to have a conversation with the Humans of Bombay. During their chat, Anupam discussed how a significant percentage of the deals that get finalised on the show don’t materialise outside the show because some founder fails to honour the terms they had agreed on the show. Anupam also shared that founders often try to alter their commitments or attempt to restructure the deal. He stated:
"A good percentage of the companies don’t get funded, and the reason is that 90 per cent of the time, founders back out or they want to change the structure of the deal. It’s a big no-no for me. It’s a bad precedent to set. They will think that they will accept whatever is on the show, but they can renegotiate later. That is a problem."
Vineeta Singh, in the same conversation, further explained that while deals on Shark Tank might not always be founder-friendly. She explained that entrepreneurs should consider the show a unique advantage of securing an investor within an hour. She further added that the process of finalising a deal outside of the show usually takes 6-7 weeks, with angel investors conducting due diligence before finalising a deal. Vineeta was quoted as:
"For a cheque to come from an angel investor, it is multiple meetings, probably 4-6 weeks in most cases. That 4-6 weeks is getting condensed to an hour on Shark Tank. We are also operating on a very tight timeline. We also compensate for the extra risk that we carry. The deal on Shark Tank may not be as founder-friendly as they would get outside because we are compensating for the time crunch at that point. This is why founders should respect that deal; the decision was made within one hour. It is never going to be the same when a person takes 6 weeks."
Anupam Mittal also showcased how a recurring issue for them as an investor was when some founders approached the show with the primary intention of getting some airtime. He revealed that founders would rather be on the show for a couple of minutes rather than genuinely following through on deals. Anupam was quoted saying:
"It happened on the tank when a founder told another founder to take the deal and figure out things later. That shows a lack of integrity."
What are your thoughts on Anupam Mittal and Vineeta Singh's revelation?
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