New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS): Sharks Tank India judges are “navigating choppy waters”, said Harsh Goenka, the chairperson of RPG Group, citing their company’s losses.
Lauding the show for promoting entrepreneurship, Goenka shared data on the financial losses incurred by some of the judges. "I still love watching #SharkTankIndia. But it seems some of our sharks are still navigating choppy waters," the industrialist wrote on social media platform X.
“There's more 'bleeding' in the tank than I thought,” he added.
Sharing the list of FY24 profit after tax, Goenka noted that Varun Dua’s Acko General Insurance suffered the most with a loss of Rs 456 crore, followed by Azhar Iqubal’s Inshorts (Rs 228 crore), Ritesh Agarwal’s Oyo Rooms (Rs 184 crore PBT before exceptional items) and Kunal Bahl’s Snapdeal (Rs 160 crore).
The list also included Vineeta Singh’s Sugar Cosmetics incurring a loss of Rs 68 Crore and Aman Gupta’s boAt suffering Rs 54 Crore in losses.
Peeyush Bansal’s Lenskart suffered the least with Rs 10 crore in losses. For Anupam Mittal’s Shaadi.com, Goenka listed FY23 results which again showed a loss of Rs 18 crore.
These comments sparked a debate on social media.
"The way they all grill gives an impression as if they are the most profitable companies in this country," said one user.
"I still not able to understand that sharks expect pitchers that their business should be profit-making, and their own companies are struggling since long to make profits," said another.
In January 2023, Goenka made a similar post that elicited a response from Anupam Mittal. While the Shaadi.com founder acknowledged Goenka's comments, he also mounted a defence of entrepreneurship, emphasising the inherent risks and challenges that come with it.
Mittal replied, "I know you meant it in jest, so with all due respect, sir, I think you reacted to what appears to be superficial, biased, and incomplete data. Happy to learn from stalwarts, but just to clarify, like you, the sharks don't bleed red, we bleed blue, and that's why we do what we do."