More than a year after the inaugural season of the Indian edition of Shark Tank, the seven esteemed investors have delivered on less than half of their investment promises, according to a new analysis, the latest to date a series of reviews for the show.
Overall, the “sharks” only invested in 27 of the 65 investment pledges featured on the TV show, market news firm PrivateCircle said. Sharks has committed $4.87 million to startups, but had only invested about $2 million as of last week, PrivateCircle said. The company reached its conclusion by combing through the documents filed by the companies, she said. The analysis did not include debt investments.
The outlook looks even more precarious for the second season of Shark Tank India, which ended in March this current year. Despite the shark panel promising 115 deals, only one investment was disclosed to the local ministry.
Some qualifications are necessary, of course. It is quite possible that several investments are still undergoing the due diligence process. Additionally, persistent technical glitches on the ministry’s website could be a plausible explanation for the paucity of disclosed figures.
Sony Network India, the broadcaster of Shark Tank in India, declined to comment on Tuesday.
“Our findings show that some deals committed to the show may have failed due to corporate due diligence issues. Additionally, some startups appear to have passed on the Shark Tank deal to raise funds at higher valuations from other investors,” Sumanjan Kumar, principal financial analyst at PrivateCircle, said in a statement.
The new analysis is the latest review for the show, which Sony says has reached more than 250 million people. Some startups that appeared on the Indian version Shark Tank have criticized the show in recent months, saying many investors ghosted them after promising a deal on TV.
Anupam Mittal, who founded Shaadi.com and is one of the investors in Shark Tank India, defended the show in a recent LinkedIn post, saying that 66% of deals submitted during the show’s inaugural season have been successfully executed, a figure he claimed. exceeds that of its American counterpart. Most deals take three to six months to materialize, he said.
Aman Gupta, co-founder of consumer electronics brand Boat and also an investor in Shark Tank India, also defended the show, saying many entrepreneurs would rather negotiate the investment deal or turn it down entirely after the airing. .
PrivateCircle’s analysis corroborated the claim, noting that at least six startups passed on their Shark Tank deals and sought funding from different groups of investors at higher valuations.
