Anupam Mittal tells broke Shark Tank India pitcher he’s ‘out of touch with reality’, Aman Gupta compares him to Will Smith in Pursuit of Happyness: ‘Get a job’ | Television News
A serial entrepreneur from Bengaluru pitched his 3D interior design platform SuperBolter on the latest episode of Shark Tank India, which is currently airing its fourth season. He said that he wants to empower young home owners to design their interiors themselves by using his ‘intuitive’ 3D platform, and eventually purchase third-party products on it. The founder, Arvind, admitted that he isn’t making any money from the platform yet, but has been at it for five years. He said that he worked in a similar startup a decade ago, but exited because of some managerial issues. He asked for Rs 75 lakh in investment in exchange of .5% equity, valuing his business at Rs 150 crore.
He said that he has raised Rs 2.7 crore from friends and family, which he has already exhausted. Kunal Bahl asked, “So, you’re out of money?” Arvind replied, “Yes, I’m putting in my own money now.” Vineeta Singh questioned whether the founder had even found a product-market-fit, and said that if he isn’t earning any money even after five years, he should probably accept the fact that he has no customers. Arvind insisted that he has 300 users daily, which infuriated Anupam Mittal. “You’re wasting your time, learning lessons others learnt five years ago,” he said, pointing out that similar companies shut down a long time ago, and that Arvind should’ve done the same thing instead of wasting his time and money on an idea that isn’t going to take off.
Also read – Shark Tank India pitcher brags about celebs using her products, accuses Anupam Mittal of making a mountain out of a molehill: ‘Yeh toh choti baatein hain’
Kunal backed out, as did Peyush Bansal, who told Arvind that his platform is solid. “Have you even used it?” Anupam asked Peyush, scoffing at his praise. Addressing Arvind directly, he said, “I’m very perplexed. What growth are you talking about? You have 300 users. You are out of touch with reality. I tried asking you a few questions because you’ve been a part of the industry. I’d understand if a rookie was floundering, because they don’t know what they’re doing. Your business hasn’t taken off in five years, and yet you’re injecting more money into it. You’re barely staying afloat, and you keep inflating your valuation. This is a classic case of being out of touch with reality. I advise you to reflect very deeply. You need to do something very drastic here.”
After Anupam, Vineeta, Peyush and Kunal backed out, Aman Gupta addressed Arvind, and asked him, “Have you seen the movie The Pursuit of Happyness? He keeps going from one place to another with a box, but ultimately takes a job somewhere. You should do the same thing.” Arvind left without getting an offer, but said that he values the feedback that he received from the ‘sharks’.
