Well, a pitcher from the show, Angad Talwar, conducted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit. Angad and his wife Kanika are founders of CosIQ Skincare. Their pitch was part of the 4th episode of the first season. The startup managed to secure ₹50 lakh for 25% stake from Vineeta Singh and Anupam Mittal.

Netizens grabbed the opportunity to ask as many questions as possible. It is possible that you will find your answers here.

A redditor asked this question that’s on everyobody’s mind: What is your view on Ashneer’s personality? Do you find him repulsive?

To this, Angad replied:

No! I love him! He’s direct, has a positive intention and does not sugar coat his works or wiggle out of situations that demand strong words. Unhone humare naam ko bhi sasta Chinese brand bola tha so I can say he’s bad and bakwaas and all that but no, he’s not. He is a gem and speaks his mind. Jo hai woh bolte hain.

Another person asked about the procedure following the verbal agreement on the show with respect to the disbursal of funds and if those cheques are fake.

Those cheques are dummies. Next comes Due Diligence, term sheets and then we get the funds!

Then there’s this redditor who thinks that the money the sharks are offering to pitchers is just peanuts to them. But Angad explained the real value.

Hai toh but unki moongfali humare liye anaar ke daane hai bhai. Also, its not all about the money! 🙂

Another person, a lawyer, asked some technical questions. 1. How long does the actual pitch and negotiation go on for and is there a lot of discussion that’s edited out?

It in real life, its atleast 30mins and up to 2 hours. The average is around 1 hour. On air they cut it down to 5-10 minutes max

2. If there’s any scope to negotiate on the documentation? Or is it all standard form stuff that they compel you to sign?

No, they do not compel to sign anything, just a basic NDA. Documentation and stuff happens after the pitch so we can negotiate (and so can the sharks). Basically during the shoot, it’s a handshake agreement, anyone can back out at any time. People usually don’t since its symbiotic, the sharks believe in the companies and the founders need the sharks and(or) their money 🙂

The show is so popular now that everyone wants to know the procedure for selecting pitchers.

Was it difficult to get a chance to pitch on Shark Tank India? Did Sony do a due diligence before letting you come on air?

Yes & yes! So out of 50,000+ applications 200 odd got to pitch, definitely IIT waali ratios hai toh difficult to hai. There are multiple rounds, forms, screen tests etc.

How often have you interacted with Sharks since you got funded?

Directly with them? Twice on video call. So they have teams and Executive Assistants and all that jazz! Bade log hai yaar. We interact with the team(s) for now and that’s good enough, solves our purpose. We can always request to talk to them directly, did that only once and were promptly given a web appointment. Easy access hai but bekaar time waste access nahi hai which I think is right.

Someone also asked if Shark Tank India charges any fees to which Angad answered, No.

I’m curious, is this just purely just a boost of capital or does the shark actually mentor and directly is involved in growing the business?  

It has both elements, if it was just the capital, we would never have taken at this valuation.

Finally, someone asked the million dollar question.

Is Shark Tank India scripted?

Ittu sa bhi nahi. Once you enter the tank, it’s all real, no retakes, no direction nothing. Ranvijay wali clippings mein they might ask you to say again or stand like this etc. but that’s outside the tank. Everything once those doors open and until you step out is 100% real.

How many of your questions got answered? You can check the complete AMA thread here.