New Shark Viraj Bahl On The Reality Behind Shark Tank India: 'Most Deals Fizzle Out & The Cheques Are Not....'
Viraj Bahl, the founder of Veeba, and now a part of 'Shark Tank India Season 4', recently shed light on why many deals done during the reality show fizzle out.
'Shark Tank India Season 4' has seen several investments and interesting pitches that have brought several entrepreneurs and sharks together. However, a recent revelation made by a judge/shark has got many wondering if the investment-on-the-basis-of-pitch actually happened or not. Viraj Bahl, the founder of Veeba, and now a part of 'Shark Tank India Season 4', recently shed light on why many deals done during the reality show fizzle out.
In an interview with the Indian Express, when he was asked about his public image on the show, Viraj shared that he has tried to come across as an 'honest shark'. "I have been the most honest shark. I have corrected the founders if they said something wrong. Being a shark is also a responsibility because you cannot mislead a founder. So, I stick to being as honest as I can. I always gave them what I felt was the right answer.”
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He also expressed his admiration for the season's entrepreneurs who participated in Shark Tank India 4, "This year I saw that company sizes have become bigger. Multiple companies that came on the show had annual revenue between Rs 20-50 crores. Higher valuations have been asked this year. 80 percent of the founders this year have spoken about profitability over growth which is encouraging to see. People from multiple geographies have come on the show this season. People from tier 2 and 3 cities also came on the show. Passionate, hardworking, and hungry founders appeal to me the most. I like it when they are detail-oriented," he told the publication.
Why do most deals not happen?
He also shared how many deals do not happen after the show ends. Viraj said, "Usually, when an investor invests in a company, it takes between six to 12 weeks, but we have just one hour. Sometimes the decisions we make are based on the numbers provided in the tank, but later if the numbers are inaccurate, the deal cannot be followed through. Also, the numbers change, usually when you invest in the tank, by the time your due diligence is done, the numbers go high because of the marketing they get from the show. They can go as high as 100 per cent. Maybe at that time a founder says that their business has scaled and valuation needs to be increased which the sharks don’t agree to. Sometimes a few founders are there just for the marketing and are not interested in doing the deal afterward.”
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The cheques on the show are not real: Bahl
While most viewers believe that the cheques given are real, in truth, Viraj Bahl shared they are not. "We don’t give them a real cheque. It’s a serious letter of intent, which states that the deal will be done subject to the numbers that have been provided are accurate. Five percent plus-minus is okay, but anything beyond that can put the deal in jeopardy. Usually, we like to close the deal before it airs, but it takes between 4 and 12 weeks to close the deal," Bahl admitted.
Viraj will now be joining Shark Tank veterans like Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh, Ritesh Agarwal, Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar ad Kunal Bahl on the latest season of 'Shark Tank India Season 4'.
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