‘When I invested, they were valued at Rs 100 Cr; now a new round is coming at Rs 1,500 Cr’: Namita Thapar on her top Shark Tank bet

On Shark Tank India Season 5, Namita Thapar has emerged as the second-highest investing shark, committing Rs 12.4 crore across 19 deals so far.

The Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals remains one of the most consistent dealmakers on the show. However, it is one investment from a previous season that she now calls her most profitable bet.

Namita Thapar reveals her top Shark Tank India bet

Looking back at her portfolio across four seasons, Thapar revealed that The Bear House, a menswear brand she backed in Season 3, has delivered exceptional returns.

Founded by Harsh Somaiya and Tanvi Somaiya in 2017, the Bengaluru-based brand specialises in smart casuals and versatile clothing for modern men.

“When I invested in Bear House, just a year back, they were valued at Rs 100 crore, and lately I hear there is a new round coming with somewhere around Rs 1,500 crore,” she said.

The Bear House has since evolved into an omnichannel powerhouse, expanding beyond online sales to open 14 offline stores.

Its monthly revenue has climbed from Rs 9 crore at the time of her investment to Rs 25 crore today.

Across four seasons, Thapar has made 137 offers, converting 111 into closed deals, with a total capital deployment of Rs 48.6 crore.

Explaining her investment philosophy, she said, “For me, the most important is the founder — the hunger they have, do they have humility, and do I really want to be a part of their journey.”

She also named Janitri from Season 2 and Arata from Season 3 among her top investments. “Both Arata and Bear House, the common factor is their resilience. They came to the brink of failure, and then they turned around the story,” she noted.

Arata’s founders credited the show for accelerating their growth, revealing that after their episode aired, “we got organic searches in such big volumes, our scale and profitability went high.”

The brand’s monthly run rate jumped from Rs 2 crore to Rs 9 crore and now serves over 20,000 pincodes with more than two million followers.

Speaking about Janitri, a maternal healthcare startup, Thapar shared, “I connected them to many doctors and hospitals because of which they got feedback and networks, which are very important in any business.”

Post-show, Janitri expanded to over 1,000 hospitals across five countries and scaled to a monthly turnover of Rs 15 crore.

With 771 pitches and Rs 301.14 crore deployed so far on Shark Tank India, Thapar’s Bear House bet stands out, not just as a financial win, but as validation of her founder-first approach to investing.

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