Anupam Mittal defends 'Shark Tank India': All about the #FundRow
As Shark Tank India gets ready for its third season, the reality television show has found itself in the midst of controversies. Recently, there were claims that winning entrepreneur contestants were yet to receive funds from the "Sharks." Reacting to this, Anupam Mittal, one of the Sharks, has defended the show. Here's everything to know about the controversy and Mittal's post.
Why does this story matter?
Shark Tank India is a franchise of the original Shark Tank, an American business reality show which first premiered on ABC in 2009. In India, the show's first season aired from December 2021 to February 2022, followed by the second season from January 2023 to March 2023. Recently, the makers announced the renewal for the third season, along with a promotional video.
What's the controversy about?
Reportedly, 12 start-ups that bagged investments, are yet to receive funds from the Sharks. Per Moneycontrol's report, an entrepreneur named Rahul secured a deal with Mittal in Season 2. He claimed there were fundamental disagreements with the deal that Mittal earlier agreed upon. Further, Mittal apparently claimed his business wasn't viable. Other winners have also claimed Sharks have reassessed their deals after the show.
'Deal completion can take three to nine months'
Taking to Linkedin, the Shaadi.com founder wrote a long post in defense of the allegations against the Sharks, the show, and the channel. "Most of the businesses on the Tank are very early stage," he said in the post while adding that "deal completion can take three to nine months depending on the readiness of the company and the founders."
Mittal invited unnamed founders to 'fix' the issue
Further in his post, Mittal urged the unnamed founders to come forward to discuss the claims. "To founders who might have made such claims (questionable since we have no real names), here is an open invitation- please step forward. In the exceptional case that you have been wronged, let's fix that," the businessman wrote while concluding the post with a "Bark Tank" image.
