New Delhi: A recent episode of 'Shark Tank India Season 2' grabbed viewers' attention when the sharks showed their competitive side in order to strike a deal with the founders of a hair-dye company. While sharks Vineeta Singh and Aman Gupta were succesfull in striking a deal, Peyush Bansal was not very happy as he had given a good offer to the founders.
Now the CEO of the hair-dye brand Yushika Jolly has written a lengthy post on LinkedIn about the hate she has been receiving after the episode aired on Thursday. She revealed that she had been labelled rude, manipulative’ and ‘greedy’ while her husband has been receiving praise for his negotiating skills.
She wrote, “Aftermath of #sharktankindiaseason2 Ep.9: 1. HATE MESSAGES. LOTS OF THEM. I’m starting to believe that we, as a country, despise women for being assertive and having opinions. In the last 48 hours, I have been called "rude," "smug," "manupulative," "greedy," “bitch” and "unprofessional." Hate messages abound in my DMs, in the comments on my personal page, and even on my brands' page. I draw attention to the gender prejudice because, in contrast, my husband, who is also the co-founder, is getting praised for his excellent negotiating skills and his smile (which I do agree with).”
She also said that they have been called greedy for rejecting Peyush Bansal’s offer. She explained her decision and wrote, “After we chose not to accept Peyush's offer of 1% (a tough decision), a lot of people questioned that decision. As a founder, I’d like to believe I know my business better than any keyboard warrior. We decided to go with Aman and Vineeta for 2% at that time since we thought they were better suited to our needs. We could have chosen Peyush if we were truly that "greedy." In my last post, I have defended my motivations. After analysing the situation in the tank, I made a calculated choice to lower our cap from 3% to 2%, which I believe was a good demonstration of opportunity x negotiation. And for everyone asking why create a mess for 1%, please go and build your own business and only then will you realise how important even 1% is. There have been a few remarks about sugar maybe acquiring paradyes in the future; all I'm asking is that you review our unit economics.”
Yushika also revealed that since the episode aired, their sales have doubled and they’ve seen a ’20x spike’ in traffic. “Following our airing, our sales have almost doubled on our website and in a few specific marketplaces. Our website has seen a 20x spike in traffic. Numerous distributors and detailers have contacted us. In the last two days, our Instagram has gained more than 9k followers. On a personal level, I have received over 3,000 LinkedIn requests, and my number of followers on this site has grown from 1,000 to 6,000+. All in all, I believe that being on Shark Tank will change the game for us and cause you to see us much more frequently moving forward.”