Anupam Mittal, People Group founder and one of the sharks on Shark Tank India, is once again in the spotlight for his no-holds-barred criticism. This time, his sharp remarks were directed at a social media influencer who pitched a business idea during the show. Vijay Nihalchandani, a business and finance influencer who presented his startup Make My Payment, faced a blunt reality check when Mittal dismissed the idea with the comment, “Isse acha thela laga lo” (Better to start a street cart than this).
This comes days after Gaurav Taneja, the popular YouTuber and fitness influencer shared his reflections on his experience at the show. “Shut down YouTube and go all in on one business. That’s the advice I got from some Sharks on Shark Tank India,” he revealed in a LinkedIn post. He further revealed that during the pitch, one of the sharks questioned him whether he will continue making videos for YouTube. To which he replied with a confident ‘Yes’.
Anupam Mittal slams influencer
Make My Payment is an app designed to send automated payment reminders to defaulting debtors. Nihalchandani came to the show along with his wife, brother and business partner. The founders pitched their idea on Shark Tank India, seeking Rs 30 lakh in exchange for a 3% equity stake in their company.
When asked about the number of users on their platform, Vijay’s wife revealed that out of 3,500 sign-ups, only 200 were paying subscribers. Reacting to this, Anupam Mittal pointed out the weak revenue model and remarked, “You’re making Rs 30,000 per month, isse acha thela laga lo”.
Sharks divided after the pitch
The influencer-turned-founder’s pitch failed to impress other sharks, namely Namita Thapar and Aman Gupta. Namita Thapar, executive director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals argued that anyone defaulting on payments wouldn’t be persuaded by an automated voice message and could easily block or ignore the calls. While Boat Lifestyle CEO Aman Gupta probed further, asking Vijay if he was involved in anything else apart from this business. Vijay revealed that he is a social media influencer with around 1 million Instagram followers and also runs a profitable hotel bookings business.
Lenskart’s Peyush Bansal shifted focus to Vijay’s Instagram earnings, to which Vijay responded that he makes approximately Rs 5 lakh per month through the platform. While Peyush appeared impressed by his social media success, the other sharks weren’t as enthusiastic.
