We can finally drift away from the typical Indian reality TV shows that are overly sentimental, and focus on personal tragedies. Shark Tank India returns with Season 2, a show in which young entrepreneurs have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pitch their ideas to five big business investors on national television. The show premiered on January 2, and the first episode looks promising. Shark Tank 2 is hosted by comedian Rahul Dua and features six judges known as sharks.
While the first episode kept us interested with interesting pitches and sharks fighting over the entrepreneurs, what we really missed was Ashneer Grover’s aura and attitude from the first season. However, two prominent judges from Season 1 will not be appearing this season- BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover and Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh.
The following judges will decide the fate of the ‘pitchers’:
- Peyush Bansal
The Lenskart CEO, who was a fan favourite in season 1, has returned to the show as a Shark. Before entering the eyewear retail business, the 37-year-old worked at Microsoft in the United States.
Lenskart was founded in 2010 and is now worth nearly $5 billion. (41,000 crore rupees)
- Vineeta Singh
Being an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), made headlines when she turned down a job offer worth one crore rupees immediately after graduation. She is the founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, a brand that aims to transform the Indian skincare and makeup industry.
- Aman Gupta
He founded the electronics brand ‘boAt’ with the goal of making gadgets fashionable. When most other companies were making black, white, or grey earphones and headphones, the company started with colourful ones.
boAt has grown at a rate of 100% year on year, with revenue of 3,000 crore at the end of FY22.
- Namita Thapar
At the age of 21, Namita Thapar became a chartered accountant. She then earned her MBA and worked in finance for six years. Ms. Thapar returned to India after a successful stint in the United States to join her father at the helm of pharma behemoth Emcure Pharmaceuticals. It is now one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country, with a valuation of Rs 6,000 crore.
- Anupam Mittal
Anupam Mittal is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor best known for founding the matrimonial website Shaadi.com. He was an early investor in several start-ups that are now household names. BigBasket, Ola, Rapido, and many others are among them. He claims to have invested in over 150 companies in the last 15 years.
- Amit Jain
Amit Jain, who made his Shark Tank India debut, is currently the CEO of CarDekho.com. He and his brother had the idea after attending the 2008 Auto Expo. Mr. Jain stated on LinkedIn, “We set up a portal where people could come to find the right information and review cars before making the decision to buy.”
‘Entrepreneur Ki Leher Ek Baar Firse’ is the motto of Shark Tank 2. And we completely agree because it will also be ‘entertainment ki leher’! If numbers aren’t your thing, watch Shark Tank 2 at 10 p.m., Monday through Friday.
