Last month, siblings Aditi and Ashish Jawa were at Shark Tank India Season 4 to raise Rs 1.2 crore for 1 per cent equity in their skincare brand, Personal Touch. However, their pitch quickly took an unexpected turn when they faced intense scrutiny, with accusations of “manipulating sales figures” and Vineeta Singh remarking, “Daal mein kuch kaala hai.”
A month after the episode aired, the siblings shared their side of the story on Ayushman Pandita’s podcast. Ashish recalled the tense exchange, saying, “When questions were raised about our sales figures, I wanted to ensure we didn’t leave without proving our credibility. That’s why I offered to show our Shopify dashboard to Vineeta and the other sharks—to prove our numbers were real.”
For the uninitiated the Sharks spotted inconsistencies in the founders' claims at Shark Tank India Season 4. Vineeta questioned the authenticity of their social media metrics. When the pitchers showcased a Reel with 2 million views but only 700 likes, Azhar Iqubal doubted its legitimacy, while Vineeta and Aman Gupta suspected the post had been boosted. Despite their insistence that the engagement was organic, the Sharks remained unconvinced.
He went on to add that they were made to wait for an hour under intense scrutiny. Making matters worse for them was that the whole scenario was also being filmed. “When we walked in from the green room, cameras were right in our faces. We were asked to sit and display our Shopify dashboard. In such situations, anyone can go numb—especially when you’ve built a Rs 35 crore business and are suddenly accused of something fishy.”
Aditi, visibly emotional, summed up the experience, saying, “Imagine working 20 hours a day for two years, building a Rs 35-crore business, and then being publicly discredited like this. We kept telling them our numbers weren’t fake, but…”
Aditi was frustrated over the quick judgements made during the pitch. “In the heat of the moment, it’s impossible for everyone to pause and properly analyze the dashboard. Instead of reviewing the details, Vineeta just jumped to conclusions and started bashing our startup," she said.
Ashish further added, “Without any proper backing, they claimed our daily revenue figures were actually monthly figures, completely changing the narrative. We understand that it’s their choice to invest or not, but why twist the facts and misrepresent our business if they aren’t interested?”