Three entrepreneurs walked away with an all-shark deal on the reality television show Shark Tank India. Their ask of Rs 3 crore in exchange of .75% equity, valuing the company at Rs 400 crore, left all the sharks in disbelief initially, before negotiations began in earnest. The entrepreneurs were representing their luggage brand Nesher Miles, which they said is completely bootstrapped and entirely profitable.
The entrepreneurs said that they hit revenue of more than Rs 50 crore last year, and are projected to hit Rs 100 crore in sales this year. The sharks were all impressed, but Anupam Mittal wanted to verify their claim of creating indestructible luggage, and so, he began to jump on a suitcase. “Anupam, kya kar rahe ho (What are you doing Anupam)?” Namita Thapar asked in an exasperated voice. “Karna padega (I have to do it),” Anupam replied gravely. The entrepreneurs assured the sharks that they stand by their return policy – no questions asked – if a customer’s luggage cracks.
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Anupam was also shocked to learn that two of the three entrepreneurs are drawing salaries of Rs 7 lakh per month, and giving themselves bonuses depending on sales. “Mujhe 20 saal hogaya companies banate hue, bechte hue, aaj bhi main aap jitni salary nahi leta. Aap Rs 7 lakh ki salary lete hain (I’ve been building companies for 20 years, I still don’t draw that kind of salary).” One of the entrepreneurs quipped, “Anupam, we live in South Bombay.”
While all the sharks were interested in Nesher miles, they weren’t in the mood to humour the Rs 400 crore valuation. After four sharks – Anupam, Namita, Ritesh Agarwal and Vineeta Singh – came together with a Rs 300 crore valuation, Aman Gupta went alone, and brought the valuation down to Rs 100 crore. The entrepreneurs respectfully declined his offer, and explored the possibility of all sharks joining hands. In the end, the accepted an all-shark offer of Rs 3 crore, in exchange of 1.5% equity, plus Rs 1 crore royalty till the investment is recovered. This valued the company at Rs 200 crore.
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