From Hoovu Fresh to TeaFit, women-led startups that shone on Shark Tank India S2

Jyoti Bharadwaj is a mompreneur who left the Shark Tank judges and the audience visibly impressed with her sharply delivered and well-detailed pitch on TeaFit. TeaFit produces zero-calorie healthy drinks made with natural herbs and ingredients, but without sugar or sweetener. It also sells instant premixes. A mother of two, Bharadwaj started TeaFit in 2021 and achieved sales worth ₹15.5 lakh in FY22 itself. She walked away with an investment of ₹50 lakh, for an 8 percent stake in the company, from four judges - Vineeta Singh (co-founder, Sugar Cosmetics), Anupam Mittal (founder, Shaadi.com), Peyush Bansal (co-founder, Lenskart) and Aman Gupta (co-founder, boAt).

​Founded in 2019 by sister duo Yeshoda and Rhea Karuturi, Hoovu Fresh is a Bengaluru-based floral startup supplying traditional puja flowers. Since its inception, Hoovu Fresh has expanded to eight cities and is available via multiple delivery platforms, including BigBasket, Swiggy, and Zepto. The duo walked away with an investment of ₹1 crore from sharks Peyush Bansal (co-founder, Lenskart) and Aman Gupta (co-founder, boAt) for an equity of 22 percent in the company.

Mother-daughter duo Poonam and Akriti Rawal founded the House of Chikankari, which offers clothing in Chikankari designs. Chikankari is a traditional style of embroidery that originated in Lucknow. The products are priced between ₹2,350-7,000 and the startup raked in sales of ₹3.3 crore in FY22. The duo received ₹75 lakh, for 3.75 percent equity, from Peyush Bansal (co-founder, Lenskart) and Aman Gupta (co-founder, boAt).

​Nestroots is a home decor brand that provides affordable and artistic furniture and home decor items. Chhavi Singh, who belongs to a family of entrepreneurs, founded the company in 2016. Nestroots’ products are available on the company website and online marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Tata Cliq, etc. Singh bagged an investment of ₹50 lakh – for 2 percent equity – from Namita Thapar, executive director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals.

Mother-daughter duo Duriya and Fatema Barodawala founded the Kolkata-based bakery startup Cakelicious. It aims to make cakes easier to consume by providing them in different sizes and by also offering cake tubs. They offer cakes in thirty different flavours. Cakelicious was born on Instagram, where Fatema shared her love for baking. The duo closed a deal for ₹25 lakh investment for a 20 percent equity in the company from Amit Jain, co-founder, CarDekho.com

Sisters Ariella Blank and Rebekah Sood aim to popularise kombucha (a type of fermented tea) in India with their startup, Atmosphere. Apart from the company website, Atmosphere’s kombucha is available at Starbucks and Blue Tokai in India. Its factory, situated in Delhi, has a 100% women workforce. Though the duo left the sharks impressed, they couldn’t come to an agreement over the equity share and thus walked away without a deal.

​Ekatra is a sustainable artisanal brand for stationery and lifestyle products. It was founded by the Kota-based mother-daughter duo of Aishwarya and Minakshi Jhawar. Since its inception, Ekatra has worked with brands like FabIndia and Netflix. Currently, it’s available in online marketplaces and offline retail stores. Sharks Peyush Bansal (co-founder, Lenskart) and Amit Jain (co-founder, CarDekho.com) jointly invested ₹40 lakh in the company - ₹20 lakh for 20 percent equity and ₹20 lakh in debt at an interest rate of 10 percent.

Moms and friends Neha Bajaj and Karen Saldanha started Dabble in 2017 to produce child-friendly, toxin-free and development-friendly products for art and play. The products are created by using ingredients like organic beeswax, natural waxes, coconut oil, etc. and are safe enough to cause no harm, even if children accidentally ingest them, claimed the founders. Though sharks expressed concerns over the low sales (₹17 lakh in FY20, ₹14 lakh in FY21, and ₹47.5 lakh in FY22), they still made offers. Ultimately, the founders accepted the offer from Aman Gupta (co-founder, boAt) - an investment of ₹15 lakh for 10 percent equity with ₹35 lakh debt at no interest.

Asana Riamei and Vishakha Bhaskar founded Angrakhaa, a Delhi-based startup producing size-inclusive clothing. Founded in 2018, Angrakhaa offers dresses, skirts, co-ord sets, and Indian wear. It achieved sales worth ₹1.16 crore in FY22. The founders walked away with an investment of ₹40 lakh for 20 percent equity from Amit Jain, co-founder, CarDekho.com.

Award-winning entrepreneur Poonam Kasturi founded Daily Dump- a Bengaluru-based startup offering waste management solutions that help convert kitchen waste into compost. Kasturi was one of the few pitchers on the show to school the judges and bust myths around waste management. She walked away with an investment of ₹30 lakh for 4 percent equity from Namita Thapar (executive director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals), along with ₹50 lakh in debt at an interest rate of 10 percent.