Shark Tank India, apart from being a major and popular entertainment platform, is also an interesting avenue for businesses and sharks to evaluate the market in which it is being pitched.
The Pitch
In some cases, the market may be saturated; in other cases, it may be nascent. In some cases, there is greater ambiguity.
Pointing out this very ambiguity in one of the pitches made at the show, Sugar Cosmetics' Vineeta Singh scrutinsed a pitch.
The pitch was made for Anuvad E-textile. The company's founder Chhail Khalsa pitched for the company. In the episode, it is revealed that the company is being funded by Ikea and Chhail Khalsa.
Vineeta Singh's Critical Outlook
The Ahmedabad-based company makes interactive textile art piece, kinetic sculptures, or exquisite rugs and cushions featuring embedded heating.
The pitcher was looking for a 5 per cent stake for Rs 52,000.
Vineeta Singh dug deep and took on the lack of practicality in the product. While agreeing with the innovations, Singh questioned the market for the product. She also added, “You’ve embedded wires into textiles, but unless it serves a unique purpose, it might just be a novelty or a gimmick. While it may appeal to kids or specialuse cases, I don’t see it replacing traditional textiles or wearables anytime soon."
Reddit Users React To The Pitch
Reacting to this, an anonymous Reddit user, shared their thoughts on the matter. In the Reddit post titled My Respect Towards Vineeta After This Pitch, the user said, "Vineeta said what everyone was thinking. The founder was on cloud 9 about her product, far detached from reality. Kudos to Vineeta for conveying her message to the founder that this product is a waste of time and no one could possibly need or want this. Rs. 52,000 for the globe light is a fkn joke!"
Replying to this post, some of the other Reddit users chimed in. One user said, "Vineeta is the most smart and most intelligent entrepreneur of Shark Tank. I respect her opinions and reality check so much. Real big fan of her proactive approach btw."
"Yep but still can work in foreign markets and even in India if the price is brought down but still agree that founder really lacks business acumen!", added another user.
While other users disagreed with the post.
One detractor said, "I mean, I don't fully agree with that point of view. India is growing and so are the socio economic standards of the common people. Premiumisation is a big bet for many many companies in India currently.
I have been in the innovation field for quite some time now. I have not seen such products in India. The products displayed by this company; are clearly not focusing on the mass market. Hence, putting a blanket statement that launching a 52k priced product is out of someone's mind: is saying Apple products are ridiculously priced. There is a market that exists. Probably you and I, have not seen or experienced it. The company did ~9 lac in one year and clocked in ~22 lac for this financial year without any investment + they are profitable from day one. That's something.
While we have Sneakin laundry services (Also, a Shark tank season 4 pitcher who got the funding), cleaning LV shoes, Gucci bags, charging upwards of 10k. I think this company also has a great untapped market opportunity."
"I disagree with you here. It is a new technology. It might not be for everyone, but if she can find a proper application, she can build a good B2B business internationally. She can sell.licence her patents as well"., opined favouring the pitch.
