62k Applications, 198 Pitches, Endless Memes: How ‘Shark Tank’ Made Rockstars Out of Indian VCs

Shark Tank has taken India by storm. From LOL memes to veritable economic gyaan, this show has doled out both entertainment and education to the masses since its premiere in December 2021. It’s even pulled off the rare crossover from the idiot box to the Internet after Bigg Boss. 

An adaptation of its American counterpart, Sony Entertainment Television’s business reality series sees sharks aka investors investing their money in the country’s best pitches. Additionally, entrepreneurs also receive mentoring from the sharks. Of 62,000 applications, the show selected 198 pitches for its debut season. 

India’s rip-roaring edition has now made household names of its seven sharks and businesspersons: Peyush Bansal (Co-founder and CEO, Lenskart), Ghazal Alagh (Co-founder and CEO, MamaEarth), Namita Thapar (Executive Director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals), Ashneer Grover (Co-founder and MD, BharatPe), Aman Gupta (Co-founder and CMO, boAt) and Anupam Mittal (Founder and CEO, Shaadi.com). Dispensing game-changing advice and serving TRP-guaranteed shots of reality, these industry titans have not only welcomed a large number of viewers to the world of business, but also pushed people to be smarter about where they bet their money.

Lenskart honcho Peyush Bansal spoke to Rolling Stone India about his top three tips for entrepreneurs in a press conference recently held by the Sony network. The businessperson held problem-solving as key to growing a business as well understanding one’s userbase. “Spend time with customers. Optimise your solution,” he said. He also stressed the importance of a team to grow one’s venture. “Of the 10 people you hire, one will be a rockstar. Make that person a part of your journey,” he said. 

Here are Peyush Bansal’s three hacks for a successful business:

1. Just focus on problem-solving. Stay persistent if the problem is big – then the scale and opportunity can also be equally large.

2. Try to not get overwhelmed with funding, equity, etc. too much. These can get to your head and there are a lot of advisors today. But if you’re solving something really good, then everything will fall into place eventually. It’s more important to spend time with customers. Optimise your solution.

3. It gets harder and harder to do everything alone, especially if you want to do something really big. You need to keep an eye out during recruitment. Of the 10 people you hire, one will definitely be a rockstar. And you’ve to spot that person as an entrepreneur and make that person a part of your journey for the next 1, 2 or 10 years. Here, sharing is very important. If you think that ‘I want everything. I’ll only do everything,’ then problems arise. So, sharing is super important in building something big.

India is home to some of the most successful startups in the world. From BYJU’S and PayTM to Ola Cabs and Oyo, the country boasts new-age business powerhouses. It’s interesting to then see how a show like Shark Tank India enters and continues to impact the country’s economic landscape.