Shark Tank India: 12 founders allegedly didn’t receive promised funds for deals; Anupam Mittal reacts after Ashneer Grover mocks

The reality show, Shark Tank India, which was introduced in 2020 and quickly rose up the TRP rankings, was inspired by the American reality television series Shark Tank. Young entrepreneurs that attended Shark Tank India and spoke about their start-ups amazed the viewers. But several controversies also arose as a result of the popularity. Many pitchers claimed that the 'Sharks' had not given them the money they had promised. 

Ashneer Grover, a former shark from season one, poked fun at the other judges as the show prepared for its third season by suggesting that they put the money they intended to invest in an escrow account. According to the Money Control report, Ashneer said, "Sharks are called sharks because they're expected to take decisions and act quickly so that the 'fish' (the pitcher) has no time to react. If they say ‘no, it takes time,’ then they shouldn’t be called sharks — they should be called dolphins, instead.”

Anupam Mittal has finally spoken out in response to the accusations. The founder of Shaadi.com, who has appeared on the reality show for two seasons, wrote a lengthy note on LinkedIn to explain the other side of the story. He wrote: “First it was ‘Sharks do not invest their own money’, then ‘Oh, the show is scripted’ & then ‘Sharks only fund profitable cos’. In every case, it’s not hard to spot a pre-determined, ill-intentioned narrative with no data or sources to back said claims. It is no surprise, then, that another flimsy controversy is doing the rounds. Again, no data, no real names. Just finger-pointing and in one case, an angry & irrelevant commentator thrown in for added masala.” 

He emphasised that these claims are unfounded and are based only on predetermined narratives that lack any supporting information or reliable sources. Check out his post here:

For the uninitiated, there were six sharks in Shark Tank India season 2: Vineeta Singh, Namita Thapar, Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Piyush Bansal, and Amit Jain. The second season of Shark Tank India debuted on January 2 and ended on March 10, 2023. The third season of Shark Tank India has recently been revealed.