Shark Tank is back with a bang in India. From memes to merchandise the buzz this show has created in pop culture cannot be ignored. However, it is not merely an entertaining show but a place of business where deserving startup founders receive the funding they need to take their businesses to the next level. Over the course of two seasons, we have seen all kinds of founders seek financing for businesses that can be anything from revolutionary to bizarre! Let's take a look at the notable ones in season 2 and what takeaways they have for aspiring founders. 

Hoovu 

What they do: 

Hoovu fresh is a Bengaluru-based startup by sisters Yeshoda and Rhea Karuturi. The company delivers fresh locally sourced flowers to households. They also sell additional prayer accessories like incense sticks that were rolled using flower petals as the raw material.

What the investors thought: 

The ability to make sales. Hoovu consistently made high sales and was able to convince the investors/sharks that the potential was much higher. They were prepared to defend both their business model and their valuation. The founders Yeshoda and Rhea Karuturi had analysed how they could be questioned and gone in-depth to find how they could assuage any doubts that the investors would have   

What to emulate  

Identifying a market and what it needs. The founders of Hoovu were able to figure out that the market for flowers around them was fragmented. This meant disproportional demand and supply of the product. Figuring out how to integrate the aspects of the market to efficiently cater to a gap is what helped them find success. Finding different types of customer bases helped them get wide coverage of the market as well. The business caters to large institutions as well as regular households alike.  

Girgit


What they do: 

Girgit is an innovative company that sells clothes and accessories. What's innovative about clothes and accessories? They change colours, yes you read that right. The name Girgit means chameleon an apt moniker given the nature of their products.  Initially, they only catered to children's clothing but they currently cater to all age groups and sizes. 

What the investors thought: 

Namita Thapar was impressed with the creativity of the concept. The affordability of these products and the first mover's advantage they have in a niche are also impressive factors. The investment made in the brand was due to the high-quality manufacturing leading to high organic scales. Some of the other sharks believed that the scalability of this brand might be a problem. However, with the right kind of marketing the demand will mitigate any scalability concerns as well.       

What to emulate 

Innovation, when the idea is unique it becomes easy to create a niche. Finding an idea that nobody else in the space has discovered yet gives founders a first movers advantage. Understanding the customer, Girgit initially made products only for children but they listened to customer feedback. Upon listening to customer feedback the founders realised there is untapped potential in a line of products for children, after all, adults need fun things too. Feeling the pulse of the market, understanding what it needs, and adapting accordingly is what every brand needs to do to sustain itself. Girgit did exactly that with their product range    

Haqdarshak

What they do: 

Haqdarshak is an impact-focused brand making government schemes more accessible in rural India. The business works on a combination of digital as well as a personal model of functioning. The app has a complete database of specific government schemes that benefit people of a specific region. Haqdarshak trains agents from these regions to help onboard families to the app.     

What the investors /sharks thought:

The investors/sharks were skeptical regarding the small margin model. However, the founder reassured them that the large volume will balance it out due to the sheer size of the market. The large amount of data collected as well as the network built by the founder was also a subject of interest for the sharks/investors. This is because they saw it as a “goldmine” with a lot more potential than just the existing business model.     

What to emulate  

A lot of times people are under the impression that being profitable and being impactful are mutually exclusive. However, this is a business model that proves otherwise. With Haqdarshak the impact they make grows along with their profitability. Laying a strong foundation. When a business is built upon a strong foundation the potential is limitless and the chance of sustenance is higher. In this case, even if the rest of the business were to stop working just the database, network and human capital have immense value to the founder. The business also stands a chance to have a monopoly as a government contractor in the future which puts them in a unique position.  

About us:

CrowdInvest will be a cross-border equity crowdfunding platform offering UK-based sophisticated investors opportunities to invest in impact-driven, high-growth tech startups operating in emerging economies. You can join the waitlist today at https://www.crowdinvest.com/ to stay up to date with developments on how to be involved.