There are a lot of debates around how angel investing bets should be made and whether an investor should be guided by numbers and data or the larger industry projections, and more. While these are all good metrics to consider, angel investors must know better than to go blindly by the numbers and attractiveness of the market.
For angel investors investing in early stage startups, founders should be the biggest factor to consider. In the words of Shark Peyush Bansal, “My bet is on the jockey, not the horse.”
LetsVenture presents five deals from Shark Tank India Season 2 showing that an investor’s first and final bet has to be the founder.
Hoovu Fresh
Hoovu Fresh is a Bengaluru-based startup that aims to disrupt the ‘puja’ flower industry. Founded by sister-duo Yeshoda Karuturi and Rhea Karuturi, the startup leverages in-house machinery and technology to increase shelf life of flowers from the standard two to three days to 15 days. At present, it has fulfilled two million orders in eight cities so far.
The Sharks lauded both the founders’ subject matter expertise of the flowers and the industry structure. Calling the duo impressive and powerful founders in addition to good unit economics, four out of five Sharks made offers. Hoovu Fresh finally secured Rs 1 Cr for two percent equity from Sharks Peyush and Aman Gupta.
The Simply Salad
The Simply Salad is an Ahmedabad-based cloud kitchen that offers a range of affordable salads with a touch of Indian taste. Their salads are offered on a weekly and monthly subscription basis as well as available for ordering on Swiggy and Zomato. Started in August 2020 by single mom Payal Pathak and her son Soham Payal Pathak, the cloud kitchen venture has fulfilled 35,000 orders so far.
The quality product and good pricing aside, it is the founders’ traits and chemistry that stood out for the Sharks. “Your mom has grit and you have gratitude; this combination is uff,” Shark Vineeta Singh tells 19-year-old Soham. She further mentioned that grit is the most important quality in an entrepreneur and that mothers – especially single mothers – are known to be very gritty in the face of adversity.
Very Much Indian
Founded by Slony Baldev Gambhir, Very Much Indian is a digital-first brand reviving heritage sarees by designing and selling authentic handloom and traditionally woven sarees. Slony hails from Maharashtra’s Yeola district which is home to around 5000 Paithani weavers. Her brand now specializes in offering sarees of Paithani Weaves, along with others like Patteda Anchu and Ilkal weaves as well.
During the pitch, Slony’s passion and the initial journey of quitting her corporate job to sell sarees door-to-door and turning a blind-eye to naysayers outshined. The founder now runs a profitable business in a sector that is labor-intensive and requires a lot of capital.
While she bagged a deal from Sharks, Namita Thapar and Aman, Peyush mentioned that if they hadn’t, he would’ve offered investment because “you are an amazing entrepreneur.”
Shark Anupam Mittal said, “You are doing a great job and I believe you are a true entrepreneur and that your struggles will pay off in the end.
GearHead Motor
Based in Hyderabad, GearHead Motor is an electric vehicle startup that designs and manufactures bicycles and tricycles at affordable prices. Yet again, it is the enterprising founders V Sai Meher Krishna and Gunda Nikhil’s motivation and energy that drove the deal.
As an engineering student, Nikhil had started a coffee shop near its college that started gathering students and sold it off for Rs 75,000. He later started another QR-based startup for restaurants and sold it off for Rs 2 Cr. A young graduate, he used that money to purchase a plot of land and laid the foundation for the EV startup GearHead Motor.
After hearing a customer story from the founders on how their tricycle could also impact specially-abled consumers and the fact that GearHead Motor has sold 15,000 tricycles to the government, Shark Peyush was convinced on taking the bet saying, “ I am ready to invest in you. Just tell me the numbers and we’ll discuss equity. My offer is confirmed unless any red flags come up.”
However, when the Sharks turned apprehensive of the business at the mention of running manufacturing and the vehicles as two different companies, Nikhil managed to clear the confusion, decided to merge the two companies and bagged a deal. Sharks Peyush and Aman offered Rs 1 Cr for 6.67% equity.
While Peyush said they are great hustlers and an even better salesman, Aman said he sees himself in Nikhil and his energetic nature. “Co-founders are important and you both balance each other well. So I am with you, Nikhil, as long as Meher is with you,” Aman added.
PatilKaki
PatilKaki is a Mumbai-based homestyle and hygienic snacks brand founded by Vinit Govinda Patil, his mother Geeta Govinda Patil, and friend Darshil Anil Savla. It is a humble business with humble beginnings started with an initial investment of just Rs 5,000 that has reached over 18,000 customers.
However, it is Vinit’s entrepreneurial nature and energy that shined throughout the pitch. Vinit is a self-taught coder and started freelancing in his ninth grade. Having developed a good client base and steady income, he dropped out of school within a couple of years and ran an IT services company with Darshil. Realizing the need to build a product-based company to achieve scale, he joined a D2C mattress company where he learnt performance marketing and logistics. Vinit and Darshil then teamed up with his mother to start PatilKaki during the lockdown.
Shark Namitha said the combination of experience and youth in the founding team is fantastic. Anupam Mittal lauded the young founders, praising, “They really are the new faces of a changing India. It didn’t even occur to do something at that age. In less than two years, two now 21-year-olds have helped set up a Rs 3 Cr business.”
Peyush maintained that while it is a tough category, he is betting solely on Vinit because “I think you would be one of the best entrepreneurs.” The team then bagged Rs 40 lakh for 4 percent equity from Peyush and Anupam.
(To learn more about angel investing, explore Learn by LetsVenture, a destination portal for lessons across stages of angel investing and free resources. If you are ready to start angel investing, join LetsVenture and start investing.)
.png)
.png)
