Business reality show Shark Tank India 3 recently saw another coffee brand seeking an investment from the ‘sharks’. While the company’s founders could not manage to impress all the investors, they walked away with a surprising investment from Ritesh Agarwal. Ritesh claimed that this was his first time drinking coffee and it looks like he was so impressed with the taste of the coffee and the economics of the business that he became the only ‘shark’ who offered them a deal.
The investors of Toffee Coffee Roasters came in with an ask of Rs 60 lakh for 2 per cent of their company, valuing their company at Rs 30 crore. Vineeta Singh was quick on her feet as she did the maths and realised that the company was selling their products at a much higher rate in comparison with their competitors. Aman Gupta, who also realised that the business needed to be refocused, quit the negotiation. Aman also gave them the advice that they should focus on a few products instead of promoting all their products.
Peyush Bansal looked mildly interested in the business but it was Ritesh Agarwal, who claimed to have never had a sip of coffee in his life, who actually made an offer. Radhika Gupta exclaimed, “A non coffee drinker is making an offer?” Calling the team “baazigar”, Ritesh offered them Rs 35 lakh for 2 per cent of their company and the pitchers accepted.
In an earlier interview with indianexpress.com, Ritesh said that he doesn’t like to call himself a ‘shark’, He said, “I personally don’t like to call myself a shark. I am more like a dolphin probably. When I was coming to the show, my motivation was very simple, I want to support founders. This has been my goal and Shark Tank has not disappointed me. Great ideas are valuable, but more than that it is the founder and person behind the company that matters. I believe the jockey is more important than the horse.”
