A one of a kind business reality TV series that has got India hooked is Shark Tank, India. Shark Tank is a series were aspiring entrepreneurs pitch in their business models to a panel of investors whom they refer to as Sharks, and persuade them to invest in their ideas. Shark tanks provides budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to secure the deals that would make them successful businesses.

This reality show is the Indian franchise of the American business reality show of the same name, which first aired in 2009. The Indian version is broadcasted on Sony Entertainment Television (SET), and is available online on its respected OTT platform and YouTube.

About the Sharks

The Indian version has seven panellist on board. All the panellists are giants in their respective area of business and hence, Sharks. The list includes:

• Ashneer Grover- founder and Co-founder of BharatPe
• Anupam Mittal- founder and CEO of People Group Shaddi.com
• Aman Gupta- Co-founder and CMO of boat
• Vineeta Singh- Co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics
• Namita Thapar- Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals
• Ghazal Alagh- Co-founder and CIO of Mama Earth
• Peyush Bansal-  Founder and CEO of Lenskart

All the Sharks brought on the table their area of expertise to help the entrepreneurs with their venture along with investment for a reasonable percentage of equity.

The investments

The show helped 67 start-ups bag funding for their venture which is estimated to be at 41.98 crores in total. The highest investments were made for 1 crore to 10 start-ups. The start-ups that bagged the investment were genuine problem solvers whose product or service could help the nation along with generating enough revenue and profit.

The investments ranged from ice popsicles, sugar free ice creams, Ed tech apps, textiles, braille literacy device, canned cocktail, lounge wears, and more. The Sharks invested in a wide variety of start ups in exchange for reasonable, and sometimes negotiable equity.

However, there were instances were participants had to head back with no investment, nevertheless the participants received constructive criticism from the Sharks for their start up, and to further establish it.

Success of the Show

The show has been a massive success and there are possible rumours of a second season. The show has 9 point rating on IMDB, and a substantially good TRP ratings. The show first aired from 21^st December 2021, and has 35 episodes.

There were 50,000 plus applicants out of which 198 candidates for selected for the show. And after the massive success of the first season, the application number is only expected to increase in the possible next season.

The presence and popularity of the show was also felt on social media, as feeds  and homepages were flooded with relevant and funny memes made from Shark Tank India. This is one of the reason the show gained a massive audience, and helped connect with the youth on a closer level and inspired more entrepreneurs to follow their entrepreneurial venture.

                     Shark Thank India not only entertained but also provided crucial business advice to entrepreneurs both on the show and the ones outside who just started with their entrepreneurial journey. Such reality shows truly justify entertainment with a purpose.