|
Listen to this story
|
Until very recently, India couldn’t have imagined a reality show where startup founders pitched their business ideas to judges looking for potential investment. Last year, Shark Tank‘s India edition changed this reality. Where primetime reality television usually meant exploiting the personal tragedies of participants, Shark Tank India capitalised on the growing entrepreneurial sentiment in the country. And audiences ate it up. Unsurprisingly, Sony has announced a season of the show, with registrations having started from the beginning of this month.
Source: Twitter
THE BELAMY
Sign up for your weekly dose of what's up in emerging technology.
The selection process to appear on the show has been divided into three segments. In the first phase, the applicant has to complete online registration and convey basic information about themselves and their business.
Online registration
- First, download the SonyLIV App from the play store or app store. Once the homepage for the app opens, the Shark Tank India thumbnail directly shows ‘Register Now’ for the users. The link will take you to the registration page. The first step requires the applicant to enter their mobile number to generate an OTP for verification. Enter the OTP on the next page from your mobile. The applicant can also visit the Shark Tank website to fill out the registration form.
- In the next step, the participant will select their preferred language and then submit the ‘Terms and Conditions’ form. The next page opens to an instructions page which gives basic information to the applicants. There is an instruction video available for reference as well.
Source: Shark Tank website
- In the next step, the applicant is required to fill in their profile information. The first section asks for details like their address, educational qualifications and occupation.
- In the second section, the applicant must provide information about their business, including the name of the business, the industry it belonged to, a summary clearly describing what their business did, and upload a photo of their product. The applicant has to obtain a safety document for their product or prototype if necessary. The applicant must also mention the amount of money they are looking to raise from the show, along with the percentage of shares they were willing to offer in exchange for the investment.
The show also doesn’t necessarily demand for businesses that are currently operational. Businesses in the ideation stage are also accepted in the show. However, the stage the business is in has to be specified in the form.
- Then, the applicant has to declare if their company was involved in any legal hassles in the past. Since our country has a huge number of SMEs that are home-run or small local businesses, not all businesses are registered. The applicant is also required to mention if their company had ever filed for bankruptcy. The applicant must also mention if they themselves were in any way disqualified by law from being the director of the business they were pitching.
The applicant also has to specify if they have any experience in television and if they have pitched the same business idea on a different show that was telecast.
Source: Shark Tank website
- In the final step, the participant has to describe themselves within 250 words and then sign a final declaration form which requires them to clarify that the participant or the business is under no contractual obligation to remain confidential so that revealing the company details won’t land the producers of the show in any legal trouble. The applicant can then click on ‘Submit.’
Source: Shark Tank website
Audition stage
This completes the first stage of the selection process. While this phase offers a glimpse into whether the applicant has a viable business idea, the second phase involves an audition process so that the producers can acquaint themselves with the business in detail. The applicant has to make a 3-minute video and pitch their business idea and send it directly to the show. The applicant must have their business’ key metrics handy to fill the form for this phase. Once the business idea is shortlisted, the applicant proceeds to the third and final stage of the selection process.
For the third phase of the audition, the applicant will have to attend an in-person interview that will be held in select cities. The applicant will be notified by the Shark Tank India team regarding the city they have to audition in, in due time. The team will conduct a thorough assessment of the applicant and their business. For this stage, the applicant must carry a demonstration video of their prototype or product and a detailed written description of their business plan. The applicant must also keep proof of identity for KYC verification and trademark and intellectual property certificates if necessary. Basic financial documents like the company’s Income Tax filings are also to be presented in this stage. The participant must also show documents for proof of any money that they have already raised, loans from banks, and other investors involved if any.
Once the shortlisted participants have been finalised, they will be invited to the Shark Tank studio in Mumbai, where they will make the final pitch to the judges. The waiting period before the final shoot is long. The SonyLIV production team will be in touch with the participant at every step via email or phone number.
Percentage of investments and deals made by the Sharks
The last season of the show saw 117 contestants pitching their business ideas to BharatPe co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover, Lenskart co-founder and CEO Peyush Bansal, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at boAt, Aman Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh, Co-founder of Mamaearth, Ghazal Alagh, Founder and CEO of Shaadi.com, Anupam Mittal and Namita Thapar, executive director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals. By the completion of the first season, the judges had invested approximately Rs. 36 crore, with Thapar having invested Rs 7 crore in 25 deals. She also revealed that she ended up investing another Rs 3 crore even after the show ended.
Source: Twitter
Sony hasn’t yet confirmed if merchant payment app BharatPe’s co-founder Ashneer Grover who is embroiled in an ongoing tussle between the investors and promoters of the company, will be a part of the show.
