‘Sharks have formed a cartel’: Shark Tank judges face harsh criticism for not funding Recode

The first episode of Shark Tank India aired on January 2. However, the show attracted a lot of criticism after the sharks refused to invest in cosmetics brand, Recode. A start-up founder who goes by the name of Vinay Aggarwal, CEO of Indovision services, has called out the show and said that the sharks have formed a cartel that will not allow competition brands to survive and thrive in the market.
 
The sharks include Peyush Bansal (Founder of Lenskart), Vineeta Singh (CEO of Sugar), Anupam Mittal (Founder of Shaadi.com), Amit Jain, (CEO and Co-founder of CarDekho), and Namita Thapar (Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals). 
 
He took to LinkedIn and posted, “If you are the founder of a business which is directly competing against any of shark' business and planning to take your business to #sharktankindia for fund raise then dont waste your time coz all sharks have formed cartel (in guise of friendship) that they will not allow competition.”
 
Aggarwal called out the unfair judges and said that they should quit Shark Tank India if they are so concerned about friendships. “IMHO if they are so invested in their friendship then they should quit the shark tank india and let someone else take up the hot seat coz India and its ambitions are way bigger then these 5-6 sharks,”
 
The brand started by co-founders, Rahul Sachdeva and Dheeraj Bansal, in 2021 impressed the sharks especially because of their sales figures. The company clocked Rs 15 crore last year and has already made over Rs 11 crore in this fiscal year. Bansal and Mittal, were, particularly, impressed by their customer acquisition strategy which is to conduct makeup tutorials in five-star-hotels. However, the sharks refused to invest because of conflict of interest with Singh who also runs a beauty care brand. 
 
This received a lot of backlash from the viewers. They called it ‘unfair’ that a company with decent sales couldn’t get funding as it was interfering with their friendships. 
 
Another user, Anjani Kumar Thakur, Co-founder of Crisps, wrote, “It is highly concerning to hear that the investors on "Shark Tank India" have formed a cartel and are allegedly not willing to fund businesses that compete with their own investments. This behavior goes against the principles of fair competition and entrepreneurship, and it raises questions about the integrity of these investors. It is important for investors to evaluate each pitch objectively and make funding decisions based on the merit of the business idea and the potential for success, rather than trying to protect their own interests. If these allegations are true, it is crucial that appropriate action is taken to ensure that the investors on "Shark Tank India" are held accountable for their actions and that future episodes are conducted in a fair and transparent manner.”
 
Another user, Sayan A. who is heading eCommerce at Reckitt India, wrote, “This was the most ridiculous reason cited and there is a air of arrogance in almost all 4 except Anupam..most of them are running loss making entities and are expecting 200 times year 1 expected profits valuation when they go for funding but wants to get a piece of business for 6-7 time pe multiple..heights of hypocrisy. And seriously sugar with 2.4 mn followers is ridiculing someone with 1/10 th of their follower base..these guys need a reality check..all the reason why shark tank 1 was a success was on d pillars of humilty , empathy and knowledge sharing.. this season reeks of so much arrogance”
 
Thapar on Tuesday took to Twitter to clarify her stance and defend her decision. 
 
She wrote: