A pair of young entrepreneurs walked onto the Shark Tank India 4 stage and left the judges stunned with their bold ask — Rs 1.5 crore for just 0.5% equity, valuing their company, Fitelo, at a staggering Rs 300 crore. The audacity of the valuation led Anupam Mittal to quip, “Your valuation is obese.”
Mehakdeep Singh and Sahil Bansal, the founders of Fitelo, shared that their struggles with weight loss led them to create a wellness app designed to address not just diet and exercise but also the psychological aspects of weight management. While Anupam acknowledged this as a key differentiator, he pointed out that the model bore similarities to competitors like HealthifyMe.
The founders revealed that they had been rejected in the first two seasons of Shark Tank India, when their turnover was Rs 1 crore and Rs 4 crore, respectively. Now, with a projected revenue of Rs 100 crore, they returned with a stronger pitch. “There has to be something magical about your app,” Vineeta Singh remarked, impressed by their user retention rate.
Kunal Bahl referred to this as the “smile curve,” a sign that customers found value in the product. However, he, Anupam Mittal, and Ritesh Agarwal chose to pass, believing the business was poised for changes in the coming year. But Vineeta saw potential and made an offer — at a significantly lower valuation of Rs 75 crore.
The pitch took an emotional turn when Namita Thapar and Kunal Bahl shared their own experiences with body shaming. Namita recalled being called 'moti' as a child, while Kunal opened up about his struggle with weight, revealing that at 17, he weighed 112 kgs and was often mocked. "People didn't call me by my name, they called me 'mota'. Those who haven't faced this won’t understand how humiliating it is," he shared.
Moved by Fitelo’s focus on psychological support, Namita proposed that they could expand into supplements. She decided to team up with Vineeta, and together they offered Rs 1.5 crore at a Rs 150 crore valuation, along with a royalty. The founders accepted, securing a deal that, while lower than their initial ask, was still a significant win.