Feb 9, 2023
By: BI India BureauSeason 2 of Shark Tank India saw pitches from various ‘couplepreneurs’ i.e. husband-wife duos who are running a business together. Though not all of them secured investments, they sure left a mark. Here’s a look at the couple-run startups that appeared on the reality show:
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Paradyes is India’s first semi-permanent hair colour brand, founded after Jolly’s own experiments with hair colouring. Impressed by the product, the duo had the sharks pitching to them. Ultimately, they walked away with an investment of ₹65 lakh for 2 percent equity from sharks Vineeta Singh (co-founder, Sugar Cosmetics) and Aman Gupta (co-founder, boAt).
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GunjanApps develops educational games for kids aged between 1.5-12 years. The sharks turned down the duo for creating an ‘addictive’ product that wasn’t ‘innovating enough’. Shark Peyush Bansal (cofounder, Lenskart) even remarked their business could “either be a hero or zero in the next two years."
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A snack and food brand catering to diabetics, Diabexy offers cookies, flour, etc. They also offer food items for the keto diet. The company’s sales and profit impressed the sharks. But the founders and sharks couldn’t agree on the equity share and the deal fell through.
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The Guptas founded MOPP with a vision of providing fresh and crispy parathas and pakoras to their customers. The duo received an investment of ₹75 lakh for 5 percent equity from shark Amit Jain (cofounder, CarDekho.com).
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A Delhi-based dessert startup producing eggless, baked cheesecakes, Cheesecake & Co has established a presence in Delhi, Bengaluru, Karnal, and Lucknow in just a year of its inception. The founders and sharks entered into negotiations over equity stake, but couldn’t strike a deal.
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The Shardas founded Green Snak to provide healthier snacking options. They sell products like quinoa puffs, etc. Shark Vineeta Singh was moved by the founders’ emotional journey of hitting rock bottom and made a deal - an investment of ₹1 crore for 8 percent equity.
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Doctors Ashish and Preeti developed a disposable uroflowmeter that allows users to undertake a home-based, hygienic urine flow and urine analysis test. After rounds of negotiations, the founders accepted the joint offer of sharks Amit Jain and Namita Thapar (executive director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals) – ₹60 lakh for 6 percent equity in the company.
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Architects Shilpi Dua and Abhimanyu Singh pitched their company Flhexible - it manufactures eco-friendly and lightweight paper honeycomb furniture made from recycled paper. Though impressed by their knowledge, the sharks found the products ‘gimmicky’ and didn’t think the business was investable.
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