Kunal Bahl goes all in and makes a rare deal on 'Shark Tank India 4'. Offers four times the pitcher's initial ask.
It has only been a week since the premiere of Shark Tank India 4, and the entrepreneurs are already pushing the 'sharks' to make deals that have never been offered before. Something similar happened when Kunal Bahl, the co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital, made an offer on Shark Tank India and pledged a whopping Rs. 8 crore.
Season 4 of Shark Tank India has had a phenomenal start. The 'sharks' are impressed by the talent the show has curated, and the audience is amazed by the bidding on the show. The latest episode of Shark Tank India brought something similar when Kunal Bahl said, "When I’m interested in a business, I go all in." and quadrupled the initial ask. The episode featured a couple from Uttarakhand, who presented their brand, Kiwi Kisan Window, which collates foods unique to different parts of the country under one roof.
They sell kahwa from Kashmir, tea from Assam, spices from Kerala, and various other products through physical stores. The duo expressed their desire to expand their business online, and for this initiative, they asked for Rs. 50 lakh in exchange for 1 per cent equity, valuing the business at Rs. 50 crores. The pitchers shared that they met via activist meet-ups and started the brand a few years ago. They are projecting sales of just under Rs. 10 crore for 2024. They revealed that they visited 20 Trader Joe's outlets in the last year and felt inspired by their setup.
Kunal Bahl asked what prompted them to expand online, especially since their inspiration was Trader Joe’s, which solely operates offline. Responding to the 'shark', the duo said that they want to be where their customers are and revealed that Patanjali and Organic India were their primary competitors. Other 'sharks' on the judges panel for the episode were co-founder and CMO of BoAt lifestyle, Aman Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh, CEO of OYO, Ritesh Agarwal, and co-founder and chairman of Inshorts, Azhar Iqubal.
Vineeta Singh and Ritesh Agarwal backed out of the deal, citing different reasons. However, Aman Gupta revealed he was interested and offered Rs. 50 lakh in exchange for 2 per cent equity, and asked for 2 per cent royalty until he makes twice his principal investment. Azhar Iqubal asked to partner with Aman, and the latter agreed, making it a joint offer. Kunal Bahl was the last to make an offer and stated that he doesn't do that often on Shark Tank, but he is going to make an offer for them and offered Rs 1.5 crore in exchange for 10 per cent of their equity in the business.
Upon hearing Kunal's offer, Aman and Azhar removed the royalty component entirely. The founders consulted for a few minutes and came back with a counter for Kunal. They asked the 'shark' if he would be willing to offer them Rs. 2.5 crore at a Rs. 30 crore valuation. To which the sharks responded that he initially wanted to reduce the valuation to Rs. 20 crore. However, he didn't do it out of respect for the others who've invested in the business previously. Kunal added that he wasn't willing to budge from the 10 per cent round figure. Eventually, the founders agreed to it, and the deal was sealed at Rs. 2.5 crore, five times what the pitcher had initially asked for.
What are your thoughts on Kunal Bahl's jaw-dropping offer? Let us know.
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