“Never Hand Over Power To The Distributor!" Anupam Mittal Warns Namita Thapar As Pitcher Points Out Zepto-Shaadi.Com Collab

In a recent episode of Shark Tank India, three founders pitched their snack company, Eat Better Co and received a good response from the sharks. 

The pitch, pitchers and the 'sharks'

The sharks showed interest especially when the founders shared plans for Rs 30 crore in revenue and sought Rs 50 lakh for 0.5% equity, valuing the business at Rs 100 crore.

Starting in a home kitchen, they now run a 20,000-square-foot factory, earning about Rs 1 crore a month from BlinkIt.

Ritesh Agarwal lauded the startup but didn’t make an offer. He expressed a collaboration interest through OYO rooms.

Namita Thapar saluted the business and offered Rs 50 lakh for 0.5% equity with a 1% royalty, while Vineeta Singh offered Rs 50 lakh for 1.5% equity with no royalties.

However, Anupam Mittal remarked the valuation was too high.

Namita said that it’s quite common for companies to make exclusive deals with e-commerce platforms.

Anupam warned, “Never hand over power to the distributor, remember this."

Vidushi, one of the founders, quickly reminded him that Shaadi.com too had a similar deal with Zepto.

Namita laughed and said, “Good answer, Vidushi!"

Kunal Bahl was the last shark to join the negotiations.

He said he prefers having a significant stake in his investments. He offered the founders Rs 2.5 crore, 5 times their request for 5% equity, valuing their startup at Rs 50 crore.

He also mentioned that he doesn’t want any royalties from them.

Kunal Bahl said, “If you want valuation, then go with Namita, but if you want a strong founder who will stick with you for years, then you know who to pick."

To this, Namita retorted, “Hello! I’m a very strong founder."

The founders suggested partnering, but none of the two ‘sharks’ agreed on that.

Namita explained that royalties are temporary but equity is permanent.

In the end, the snack company founders chose Namita over Kunal to keep their valuation.

Interestingly, Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, and Vineeta Singh recently made a fun entry in the Shark Tank India studio dancing together to a catchy Bollywood tune.

Also read: AI Startup By Indian Founders Faces Global Outrage After Sharing 'AI Supervisors' Demo (startuppedia.in)