Gaurav Taneja, famously known as Flying Beast, left the Shark Tank India stage without a deal for his supplements brand, BeastLife, but with strong opinions about entrepreneurship.
Seeking ₹1 crore for 1% equity, Taneja pitched his brand’s success, anchored by his immense YouTube following and digital expertise. However, the Sharks questioned his dual-focus strategy and its long-term sustainability.
“𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙏𝙪𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. That’s the advice I got from some Sharks on Shark Tank India,” Taneja later revealed in a Linkedin post.
During the pitch, a Shark directly asked if Taneja would continue his YouTube career alongside BeastLife. Taneja’s immediate response was a confident “Yes.” The Shark, however, was unimpressed and remarked, “𝘈𝘢𝘱 𝘬𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘪 𝘩𝘰𝘨𝘢, 𝘢𝘢𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘩𝘢 𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘦.”
For Taneja, shutting down his YouTube channel, which connects him with millions of followers, wasn’t an option. “To me, that felt like a risky move—one that could hurt more than help,” he said. He emphasized how his eight years of digital marketing experience and audience trust power BeastLife’s growth.
Taneja underscored BeastLife’s competitive edge. “We’re already EBIDTA positive, and because of the distribution we’ve built, we save nearly 90% of our total expenditure on marketing. That’s a huge advantage,” he explained. Comparing BeastLife’s rapid growth to established players, he highlighted:
“The rules of entrepreneurship are evolving. Maybe it’s time to explore and break traditional molds,” Taneja said.
Shark Kunal Kapoor supported Taneja’s perspective, saying, “𝘏𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘻 𝘬𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘪. 𝘚𝘢𝘣 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘪. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘢.”
Taneja acknowledges that entrepreneurship involves risks but views bold decisions as necessary for growth. “I’m still a new founder—bold decisions might mean failures, but they also mean learning,” he shared. After the show, Taneja faced criticism for promoting another brand, Rosier Foods, using Shark Tank visibility. Social media users accused him of hypocrisy for pushing a product not disclosed during his pitch. “No wonder the Sharks didn’t invest,” one user commented, while others questioned his credibility as a founder.