Founders that pitch on Shark Tank can do better than those who come from IIT or IIM, says Anupam Mittal

• Unlike the elitist founders who are used to being served everything on a platter, the aspirants on Shark Tank understand the economics of doing business in India.
• Indians now have the same aspirations as people in other parts of the world and there’s never been a better time to start a business.
• Out of the 100 unicorns in India, many will fail in 2024 as they were built on the wrong foundations, says this seasoned Shark who has built many unicorns as an angel investor.

India’s startup ecosystem has been dominated by founders armed with Ivy League or IIT degrees behind them. However, this breed of so-called ‘entitled entrepreneurs’ are being challenged by Indians who may not have fancy degrees but understand ‘dhanda.’ Shark Tank, a reality show for aspiring entrepreneurs, has taken the startup dream deep into the heartland after the first season of the show hit television screens in 2021. From stigma to stardom, entrepreneurship has found its glitzy new launchpad.

Popular shark and the founder and CEO of People Group, Anupam Mittal says, “The show has become a catalyst for driving entrepreneurship and giving it legitimacy to entrepreneurial dreams. A decade ago, if you told someone you are an entrepreneur, you would be told to come back when you get serious. The show has played an amazing role in celebrating entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem.”

Even though India for long has been a hotbed of small businesses, the middle class has often attached a premium to professional degrees like medicine and engineering than to entrepreneurship. Mittal recalls an aspiring entrepreneur who came looking for funding because unless he had that he could not get married to his girlfriend. That was more than a decade ago. Says Mittal, “The show has played an amazing role in celebrating entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem.”

Shark Tank’s first season came out in December 2021, which was the peak of the startup hype cycle, and it demystified the whole conversation around startups and funding. Today, jargon like pre-seed and Series A funding are dinner table conversations even in Bharat.

The distinguishing factor

Mittal says the participants who come on the show are not entitled IIT or IIM passouts. These are real people from the hinterland who understand business and the pulse of the population. Thus, many of the founders that come to Shark Tank can do even better than the founders who have come from an IIT or an IIM. And it is this learning that has even surprised a seasoned angel investor like Mittal, who says: “I believe that these people understand commerce and ‘dhandha’. The elitist founders are used to being served everything on a platter. These are small businesses founded by housewives and family members. Entrepreneurship is not the reserve of a few. The next decade will be defined by Indian entrepreneurs globally and so there is no better time to be an entrepreneur than now. Shark Tank has put belief in every Indian that they can do it and that changes the game.”

Indians now have the same aspirations as people in other parts of the world. Anybody who comes in and can bridge the gap between aspiration and affordability will do well especially in lifestyle, says Shark Mittal. Companies in the clothing and jewellery space will do well if they can deliver high aspiration at a value pricing, he adds.

Last year a company called Snitch came with a revenue of Rs 60 crore and is now doing Rs 250 crore in sales after it debuted on the show. Another startup called Skippy, which makes ice pops was funded on Shark Tank, now has a revenue run rate of Rs 50 crore from a few lakhs before the show. Mittal says that he funded a company called Sharmaji Ka Atta, which has a revenue run rate of Rs 20 lakh a month in less than 12 months from less than 1 lakh. Another one called Whatsapp Wellness just got funded by HUL.

Fundamentally, companies that can build premium products but don’t break the bank on affordability in categories like fashion, lifestyle and food will do well. People read labels now and the young generation is focused on what they are eating. Beauty and wellness products will do well as a secular trend for most of our history Lakme meant beauty, that’s how underbranded we were.

Mittal, who is a seasoned angel investor and has even funded Ola in its very early days, says that many of the founders that come to Shark Tank can do even better than the founders who have come from an IIT or an IIM. Many professionals who come out of large companies or consulting firms cannot start without large rounds of funding. “Out of the 100 unicorns we have, many will spectacularly fail in 2024 as they were built on the wrong foundations. These companies were built on a template of Ivy League founders and old school networks and so they got funded,” is Mittal’s forecast.

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