The third season of Shark Tank India is coming up in the future, and registrations have already begun earlier this month. In its previous two seasons, Shark Tank India‘s judges have managed to gain the attention of the audience while listening to the pitches of small entrepreneurs and nodding to invest in some businesses. However, in recent times, people have been questioning the credibility of the show. Remember when a LinkedIn user pointed out how most of the judges are ‘drowning in huge losses‘?
Now, someone on Twitter has dropped another truth bomb about Shark Tank India in a thread. The post talks about an alleged ‘delayed funding scam’ which has been going on.
A Twitter user, @financebyanmol, posted the thread about ‘dark side of Shark Tank India‘. “Today, I am about to share the story of many frustrated and broken Shark Tank India contestants, this might shock you (sic),” the first tweet reads.
Here’s the Twitter thread in discussion:
In his second tweet, the user claims that many contestants participating in Shark Tank India, who were promised funding on the show, haven’t received it from investors (sharks) yet.
These contestants had one of the most compelling pitch and was promised funding on national television but hasn't received a single paisa from Shark. 💰
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
Let's look at the Shark Tank India timeline to understand how these Sharks look to blackout from their agreement,
2/n
– June to July is the period when Sony is accepting registrations for Shark Tank. For example, The Shark Tank S3 registrations are live now.
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
– August to November is when the actual physical pitches take place from the filtered lot.
3/n
– B/w Dec to Jan the Sony team wrap up their post-production and get Shark Tank ready to air
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
Now if a start-up was promised funding b/w Aug to Nov, they should receive their funding within 2 months because the due diligence and the legal proceedings don't go longer than that
4/n
It further claims that judges ‘deliberately’ wait for the show to air first and then ‘see how well the Shark Tank effect worked on the start-ups’.
But the Sharks deliberately wait longer for the show to air and see how well the "Shark Tank Effect" worked on the start-ups, the Sharks gauge their website traffic and sales after the show is aired and also monitor if other investors are looking to make an offer,
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
5/n
As per the thread, some start-ups are then made to ‘move around in circles’ to further delay the investment and eventually ‘try to get out of the agreement’.
The start-ups that don't respond too well when the show is aired, they're made to move around in circles so they can further delay the investment and eventually try to get out of the agreement.
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
Because of this situation, they don't even get funding from other investors,
6/n
because they say, "Sharks ne investment de di kyaa? vo de denge to aana hamare pass".
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
The founders I talked to faced all these problems (can't reveal their names at this moment).
7/n
You know, Shark Tank is more benefiting the Sharks and Sony network, they're looking to dramatize the entrepreneurial activities to gain traction and TRP which in-turn helps the Sharks to gain social recognition and push their own brand,
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
8/n
– Look at Lenskart founder, Peyush Bansal, he's gained enough recognition that he's on his own TV commercial along with Karan Johar.
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
9/n
– The ex-shark Asheer Grover was able to stir the pot enough and get into controversies, and when he launched his book, it recorded astounding sales. He is also in the ads of CrickPe
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
10/n
– Anupam Mittal and Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt have gained massive recognition, just go and check their Instagram, they're doing conferences, podcasts and attending red-carpet events.
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
11/n
The thread concludes by claiming that Shark Tank India has been benefitting judges and makers more than aspiring entrepreneurs.
-Shark Tank India was a success because of the aspiring entrepreneurs on the show but instead of benefiting them more, the show has elevated the Sharks and Sony's TRP.
— Anmol Sharma (@financebyanmol) June 10, 2023
Who is to blame here? What do you think, everyone?
12/n
Let’s check out reactions of netizens:
I agree. If you look at USA Shark Tank, it is way better than India’s shark tank. Everything is so cringe here that it gives the vibes of roadies. I have stopped watching shark tank indian after 3-4 episodes.
— Divya Gandotra Tandon (@divya_gandotra) June 11, 2023
All that glitters is not gold
— Dr Manjunath (@manjudoshetty) June 11, 2023
The entire system is to be blamed. These guys are sucking the juices out of the dedicated entrepreneurs. It should be stopped.
— FPLWhoop (@Whoop_IN) June 11, 2023
If it’s true, it’s high time that entrepreneurs should think twice before pitching their businesses on Shark Tank India. What do you think of this thread?
