Over a yr following the inaugural season of the Indian version of Shark Tank, the seven esteemed buyers made good on lower than half of their funding pledges, in line with a brand new evaluation, the newest in a series of criticisms for the present.
The “sharks” general invested in solely 27 of the 65 funding pledges proven on the TV present, market intelligence agency PrivateCircle stated. The sharks dedicated $4.87 million to the startups, however had solely invested about $2 million as of final week, PrivateCircle stated. The agency reached its conclusion by combing by means of company filings, it stated. The evaluation didn’t embody debt investments.
The outlook seems much more precarious for the second season of Shark Tank India, which concluded in March of this present yr. Despite the panel of sharks promising 115 offers, solely a single funding has been disclosed to the native ministry.
A few {qualifications} are needed, to make sure. There is a definite risk that a number of investments should be present process the due diligence course of. Additionally, ongoing technical glitches on the ministry’s web site might be a believable clarification for the sparse disclosure figures.
Sony Network India, the broadcaster of Shark Tank in India, declined to remark Tuesday.
“Our findings show that some deals committed on the show may have fallen through because of concerns in company due diligence. Also some startups seem to have passed on the Shark Tank deal to raise funding at higher valuations from other investors,” stated Sumanjan Kumar, Lead Financial Analyst at PrivateCircle, in an announcement.
The new evaluation is the newest criticism for the present, which Sony estimates has reached over 250 million folks. Some startups that appeared on the India model Shark Tank have criticized the present in latest months, saying many buyers ghosted them after promising a deal on the TV.
Anupam Mittal, who based Shaadi.com and serves as one of many buyers on Shark Tank India, defended the present in a latest LinkedIn put up, saying that 66% of the offers offered in the course of the present’s inaugural season had been efficiently executed, a determine he claimed surpasses that of its U.S. counterpart. Most offers take three to 6 months to materialize, he stated.
Aman Gupta, co-founder of the patron electronics model Boat and likewise an investor on Shark Tank India, additionally defended the present, saying that many entrepreneurs desire to both negotiate the funding deal or decline it totally after the telecast.
PrivateCircle’s evaluation corroborated the declare, noting that at the very least six startups handed on their Shark Tank offers and pursued funding from totally different set of buyers at larger valuations.
