Shark Tank India 4: Anupam Mittal tells broke entrepreneur to ‘take drastic steps...’; Aman Gupta sees shades of Will Smith's Pursuit of Happyness

In the latest episode of Shark Tank India 4, a Bengaluru serial entrepreneur made a pitch for his 3D interior design platform SuperBolter. According to him, his goal is to enable young homeowners to use his 'intuitive' 3D platform to design their own interiors and eventually buy things from third parties.  Although he has been working on the platform for five years, the founder, Arvind, acknowledged that he hasn't yet made any money from it. He claimed that ten years ago, he worked for a business that was comparable to this one, but he left due to some managerial problems.  He valued his company at Rs 150 crore and requested an investment of Rs 75 lakh in return for a 5% stake.

He claimed to have already spent the Rs 2.7 crore he had raised from friends and family. 'You're broke?' asked Kunal Bahl. 'Yes, I’m investing my own funds now,' Arvind said. Vineeta Singh asked if the creator had ever discovered a product-market fit and said that he should likely face the fact that he has no clients if, even after five years, he is still not making any money.

When Arvind insisted on having 300 users per day, Anupam Mittal became infuriated. He stated, "You're wasting your time, learning lessons others learnt five years ago." He pointed out that similar businesses had long before closed, and Arvind should have followed suit rather than squandering time and money on a doomed project.

Both Kunal and Peyush Bansal withdrew, with Bansal telling Arvind that his platform is solid. "Have you used it at all?"  Scoffing at his compliment, Anupam queried Peyush.  "I'm very perplexed," he added, speaking straight to Arvind.  What kind of growth are you referring to?  You have three hundred users.  You have lost your sense of reality.  Since you've worked in the field, I attempted to ask you a few questions.  I could see why a novice could be struggling because they are inexperienced.  You're spending more money on your business even if it hasn't taken off in five years.  You continue to inflate your valuation while barely surviving.  This is a quintessential example of being disconnected from reality.  I suggest that you think very carefully.  You need to do something very drastic here.”

Following the withdrawal of Anupam, Vineeta, Peyush, and Kunal, Aman Gupta turned to Arvind and enquired, "Have you watched the film The Pursuit of Happyness?  He keeps moving around with a box, but eventually, he accepts a job somewhere. You ought to follow suit.  Arvind stated that he appreciated the comments he received from the "sharks," but he departed without receiving an offer.