New Delhi, March 1 (IANS): ‘WiseLife’, the yoga and wellness brand has bagged a deal of Rs 1.2 crore with four sharks in the new episode of the entrepreneurial reality show ‘Shark Tank India’ season 3.
Hailing from Gurugram, Prateek Kedia and Shreya Bansal bring their brainchild ‘WiseLife’ to ‘Shark Tank India 3’. Their yoga mats are made from natural rubber, suede, cork thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), and have features like -- one time rolling, superior grip and extra cushioning.
Talking about the idea behind the business, Prateek said: “Sharks, like lakhs of youngsters, I, too, had made work my life. I would work over 50 hours a week and be under constant stress. I finally realised that life could not go on like this. After all, health is wealth. So, I finally started doing yoga. I ordered a few yoga mats online then I faced problems like the mats not unfolding properly, slipping while doing asanas due to no proper grip, and my elbows and knees were pained because of no proper cushioning.”
“To solve these problems, we present to you Wiselife,” he shared.
Shreya continued saying, “Our mats not only come in attractive designs, but have good quality, affordable and are eco-friendly.”
“We have also launched yoga props like belts, blocks, wheels and others,” she said.
Prateek said that they have one lakh plus customers, and want to take this yoga experience to every Indian household and inspire people to focus on their health and wellness.
Hence, they asked for Rs 60 lakh for 2 per cent equity.
Ritesh Agarwal (Founder and CEO of OYO Rooms), complemented the pitchers and said: “I'm glad to see you barefoot. You've incorporated yoga into every aspect of your life.”
Aman Gupta (Co-Founder and CMO of boAt) candidly asked Ritesh: “Do you do yoga?” To which the latter replied: “A little bit. You see, my wife is a yoga trainer.”
Namita Thapar (Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd) said: “I do it regularly and it has changed my life. How did you get into yoga at such a young age?”
Replying to Namita, Prateek said: “We both used to work for PWC. We were doing our CA Articleship there. The Articleship period is extremely hectic. Our health and wellness took a hit at the time. We decided to join a yoga class together. Doing yoga made us feel really better.”
Anupam Mittal (Founder and CEO of Shaadi.com) said: “There's a Canadian brand...Lululemon. They made activewear and yoga wear super cool. This was the go-to brand, right? Is your brand somewhat positioned along those lines, because I'm getting that feeling?”
Prateek replied: “We are inspired by Lululemon for sure...But this brand is completely Indian. We need to address the Indian market. We have 40 plus yoga mat designs, and they are all 100 per cent sustainable, and natural rubber on the bottom.”
Shreya continued: “We have the entire yoga range. No matter what product you need for yoga, it is available with us.”
Ritesh said: “I believe your product experience truly is world-class. Your yoga-driven designs are a unique competency.”
Anupam went on to say: “Are you just looking for a platform like Shark Tank to get the WiseLife brand out or do you really want to raise funds and take this to the next level?”
Prateek replied saying, “First of all, any amount of marketing is not enough. Our product will go wherever we get marketing. We're completely self-taught. We don't have a mentor who could guide us. So, we expect you and your team to share your mantra or secret sauce with us.”
“We had internally set a benchmark for ourselves. Until we didn't cross a revenue of Rs 1 crore a month, we would not involve external parties. Unless we're not sure about our business, why should we raise capital and complicate matters? Last month, our gross revenue was Rs 1 crore. This is the first time we're having a formal discussion with an investor to raise funds,” he added.
Finally they sealed a deal of Rs 1.2 crore for four percent equity with Aman, Anupam, Namita and Ritesh.
‘Shark Tank India 3’ streams on SonyLIV.