Gupta and Namita Thapar reacted to people calling them ‘tough’ and ‘mean’. Thapar said how there were also moments on the show where she found it difficult to give candid feedback to some entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs who came on Shark Tank India never had to leave empty-handed. In the cases where they did not get investments, the sharks showered some of them with the advice they needed to do better in the field, while others with harsh criticism. This led to some people saying that the sharks were ‘mean’ and ‘tough’. Recently, Namita Thapar, executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals and Aman Gupta, co-founder and CMO, boAt, set the record straight on this.
In a conversation with Rohan Joshi, Tanmay Bhat and Sahil Shah, Namita talked about how it was important to give the entrepreneurs ‘candid feedback’, so that even if they did not receive funding, they could walk away with feedback that actually helped their business. “So I think the intent is not to be mean, the intent is to give them feedback that’s going to help them improve their business,” she said.
The Emcure Pharmaceuticals director also said that even though the sharks’ hearts were in the right place, sometimes the words may not come out in “the best possible manner”. The businesswoman also opened up about the times she felt it difficult to give candid feedback. It was easier for seasoned entrepreneurs, who were familiar with the ups and downs commonly seen in business, to take criticism from sharks. But for relatively newer entrepreneurs, hearing candid feedback was disheartening, which made it hard for her to say it as well, she said.
Aman Gupta also joked that not only were the sharks a little ‘tough’ and ‘mean’, they were also a little ‘pagal’. He also added that entrepreneurship was not easy, and business people need to handle difficult situations in life. But now after completing one season, the sharks have the opportunity to take a look back and do better next time.
The first season of Shark Tank India can be streamed on SonyLIV.
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