COVID was one of those times for me when the travel industry shut down completely. Most people assumed that anybody who was in the travel business was clearly not doing well and won't be around for a very long time. Cancer was the thing that happened to me because it taught me mind over matter. When you believe, everyone told me four months, four days, four years. Why do you guys feel that side business is actually important? No, if your feet are on two ships and hands are on the river, you will fall. Giving advice and showing wisdom is very easy. Friends with whom you sit twice a week in the evening and curse the whole world, and then showing up at work the next day as if nothing happened. One of the sharks met up and said, this is my number, you can call me. Okay? I'll give you as much guidance as you need, I'll take you that far. Boss, when you get that, you know, I think that's what a true coach is about. You don't expect guru dakshina.
Today I am sitting with few of the greatest minds. So we have the sharks of Shark Tank India Season 5. This is me, Anusha Pujari, welcoming all of you to Filmy again.
First of all, I still remember when Season 1 came. The day it was announced. Still today it has always been very promising and always, you know, the benchmark that was set, every season has touched that benchmark. But I have to say, how is it for you guys to be on the other side of the story? So, you know, since day one, since you guys also must have started to now, you know, sitting on that chair. How is it like to all?
I think every entrepreneur in India wants to be a Shark Tank Shark and Shark Tank Judge. Okay. And those who say we don't want to become, they are lying. So everyone wants to become, and we are truly the privileged lot that we have gotten this opportunity. I personally take it very seriously also. I mean, you owe it to the audience, you owe it to most importantly the pitcher.
I think it should be called Pitch Tank, not Shark Tank. It's all about the pitcher. Absolutely.
And I feel, you know, Shark Tank is making entrepreneurship mainstream in India and that gives us a lot of responsibility to all of us.
The feeling, to be honest, is a feeling full of gratitude. I am just happy, I am lucky, I am blessed to be here and being able to, you know, do a little bit of contribution towards making India entrepreneur first.
Okay. How sweet. That's very well said, actually. For you, is it your first time?
Yeah, I think, you know, for me it's been a very, very humbling experience. You know, I didn't know how crazy Shark Tank is until I got a chance to be a part of it. I think like he said, you know, we are really privileged to have been here and got this chance to be a part. But I think what you see now on TV is just 2% of the inspiration in real life that we get. I have drawn out of it at least. I think every pitcher has come and given that wake-up call that you need as an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, we are like a train that's moving, you know. You are going on track, right? And sometimes you too need to be jolted to think differently, to, you know, dream differently. And I think that's what Shark has been doing for me.
Like, you know, so I was having a discussion with another shark behind the scenes and it's like you never sleep because, you know, you work from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM in the tank and then your mind is so inspired, so motivated, and you are on overdrive. Constantly thinking, we can learn this from this person, we can learn this from that person. I think for me, it's, the excitement is all about, you know, learning new things, going back inspired, motivated, and I think you get new, you know, reason to go do something new.
Right, right, right. You also get to learn a lot of things.
Absolutely, yeah, truly, I feel.
So look, I think a country is known by the shows it watches.
That's a good one.
If you look, in the past 10-12 years, today I think one of the most, most popular shows among the younger generation is Shark Tank.
People look forward to the next season.
Wherever I go in the country, people say it's coming in January, right? Absolutely it's coming. Right? And so I think this is the changing face of our country.
Where earlier you were going to Mumbai for something else, for some other show. Today you are going to Mumbai means you are going to build a million dollar business or a million rupees business. Right? I think that is the representation of what the young India is today.
The young India now wants to create enterprise, wants to create concepts in India which are not the biggest in Guwahati and Bhubaneswar and in the region and in the country, they want to build the best in the world. And I think to be a part of it is a very exciting journey.
Right, and we are really looking forward to the season. I have to say.
Okay, I read a quote. It says that every coach was once a player. Now that you guys are the coaches of your game, I have to ask you how was that phase for you guys when you were the players? You know, when you all must have made so many mistakes, rejections would have happened, and then you all must have got success. What was that phase like for you guys? Anything that you get?
Look, our Indian coach has won us so much World Cup. So naturally, I think being a player and a coach is a privilege. And my perspective is that look, we were talking about this earlier with both of you, is that as a coach, you are constantly thinking is this player like me? Because you can relate with them, right? That you had your own strengths, your own weaknesses. I am sure the player has some today. And you feel like how can I help them bridge it? See it.
And I would also, I completely agree with him. And I think entrepreneurship while we are coaching the young startups, I think, and I speak for myself, I am also a player, still a player, because we are all actively running our businesses. And that is entrepreneurship. You just, while you are coaching others, you never stop being a player yourself also. You are always playing, you are always, every day is exciting.
Every day is, you know, brings a new challenge and that is the beauty. So our experience as a player helps us coach the new player a bit better if you know what I mean.
Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it. So, you know, I think I am a coach who is still learning, yar, who is still playing like he said. So, you know, for me it's been about... this is the first time I actually doubted myself. That yar, am I saying the right thing? As an entrepreneur, sometimes you reach a point where you feel everything is right. And I think with me it's always been about, I am never the best. Best, I want to become the best. But I think coming to Shark Tank has really made me realize that yar, there is so much experience, information, wrong word, that you have to share. And if I had even 1% of what I am able to share, I think my life would have gone down a very different trajectory. I mean, no regrets, I love everything that happened. But I just believe there is a wealth of knowledge available on this tank and I have been, you know, just learning from the fellow season sharks like I got them. These guys have, you know, set a path which is very hard to follow. I think if I can be 2% of what they have been, I would have achieved something.
But just seeing that, you know, I'll give a small example. When someone did get money, one of the sharks met up and said, yar, this is my number, you have to call me.
Okay.
Okay. I'll give you as much guidance as you need, I'll take you that far, yar, boss. Where do you get that? You know, I think, and that's what a true coach is about. You don't expect guru dakshina, right?
You know, as if you are a guru, you only keep sharing, sharing, sharing. I think that's what I have loved that I have got a chance to actually, you know, share my experience and prevent someone else from making the mistakes I have made in life.
Okay. You know, last season I gave my number to a pitcher and I was so impressed. Like literally a few weeks later she called me, she flew down from Bihar and she said you gave me your number at sharp time, can I call? I said of course. She came, we spent half a day in the office and, you know, tried to solve her business problem. So even though I did not invest, I, you know, got to get my hands dirty in her business and really understood her business. And I think we made a difference. One of the other sharks did invest in her business. And that's it. You know, we are building a community where we can hit.
That is what is the joy of Shark Tank. Right? Which is the relationship that we build in the tank.
Is not the end of it. It is a beginning of a long-term relationship. So whether you invest or not, your friendship continues long-term.
It's a space of two-way communication I feel.
It's like, you know, when you go there, it's like, okay, I came on Shark Tank, you remember? Or maybe they didn't pitch to you. They pitched to another shark. But there is a sense of community among Shark Tank that we are all like a group among ourselves.
But do you guys actually believe, you know, in the young minds? Because we say Gen Z is getting a bit lazy nowadays. They don't want to work. It's become a bubble. That's a lie. Don't spread that.
Boss, Gen Z is getting smarter. They were lazy. I am sorry to interrupt. Let me tell you, my CFO, you know, I have to meet him again, I think, I want to meet him again. But someone from my finance team was sitting on one side, very senior, experienced person. And my 24-year-old new chief of staff was sitting here. I told her, yar, I want to start a new business. So every day I wake up with 100 new ideas. Okay, I go back to sleep having punctured 100 of them. I think but one survives. So one of those crazy days I said, yar, make me this model today itself. Let's do side modeling and see what happens. She said, Ma'am, give me at least one week, yar. At least this is so complex. She said, Ma'am, you send me something on a computer. Within 15 minutes she had it ready. Okay, it was 10 out of 10. It was 8 out of 10. And she used all the so-called lazy tools of AI to do it. But because that's Gen Z for you. And 8 out of 10 is what you need? 8 out of 10 is 10 out of 10, yar, in life. So, you know, that's the difference, yar. There is something called hard working and smart working. Smart. I have always believed smart working is what's going to take you from A to B. And I think that's what Gen Z is about. And the second thing is, boss, Gen Z learns to stand up for themselves. We didn't have the courage to speak up. I still don't, yar. You know, my biggest problem is I say yes to everyone who asks for anything and it's not the best quality to have. But Gen Z has a mind of their own. If they don't like something, they will say it out. If they don't want to choose a shark, they don't choose a shark. If I was in the pitcher's place, I'd get five offers. I'd say, yes, yes, please, thank you so much, you give it. You know, here Gen Z comes and says, I don't like you. I want him. So I think that's what Gen Z is about. And that's India's greatest asset going forward. You know, you've got this group of kids who think, who have a mind of their own, who know how to work smart, who work on their own terms.
Ya, look, I think I just want to share that. Look, more than what you said, I feel that they know how to make choices.
They do. Okay.
Because in Gen Z you will find all three types of people. There will be people who have no trouble burning the midnight lamp like your chief of staff. You will see people who keep work separate and live their lives after that. And then you will also find people who go to Bali and take surfing lessons all day, learn new things, and along with that do online freelancing and earn enough money to get by. These choices are available in India today. That if you are Gen Z today, you can make the choices and pursue whatever happiness is for you. They don't live with the definition of happiness that somebody else scripted for them. And that's a great thing.
Right, right, right.
And what you said about Gen Z being lazy, you know, Gen Z is very, very intelligent. So they know they are working smart. But also I would like to add to that, Gen Z is a breed in its own. Like they are hungry, they are willing to go. And this time also, even last season I was seeing small town founders coming. Hunger is there, knowledge is there. And with internet they are at par with the metro Gen Zs. And they have everything on their fingertips. It is a power which is waiting to be unleashed. And as they just said, you know, India's future is bright because Gen Zs are going to take us home. You know, it's... we don't stand a chance to them basically.
But it's a beautiful time ahead for India.
Right, right. Okay, and I was talking to this one actor, he said that even though I am an actor, you always have to have a side business. Almost like three-four out of ten people have said the same things. Why do you guys feel that side business is actually important?
No, in entrepreneurship in our world, you have to be all in. There is only one business. Only one business. That is your life. That is your business. That is your everything. You are eating, breathing, sleeping, acting with due respect. I am not an actor. So I don't know about that business. But in this business, if your feet are on two ships and hands are on the river, you will fall, you will fall. So you need to be on one ship and you need to be kind of sailing strong because the sea is going to get rough. It's going to get windy. So you need to be strong. It won't, you know, all of us. You know, I have, like, you know.
I tried. I tried cross it.
But it has to be, you know, all in, nothing. You know, it's...
I was just adding to saying that look, our life is a little different, but you are giving the example of a different profession. If you see, actually Naval is a very popular philosopher in Silicon Valley, so he always says, are you wealth seeking or are you status seeking? Okay. By this, if you are in a creative profession where your longevity is a certain number of years, you think that I can do this work for 20 years, 30 years, 40 years. By this, they think that I should create some value that outlives me, which remains for a very long time. Which is why this creator commerce has become a big deal. Right now you must have seen Kusha just raised a big round yesterday. Congratulations to her. Kusha Kapila. She has a company called Under Neon. Just doing extremely well.
Yeah.
But my sense is creators becoming entrepreneurs, in my mind is going to become a very standard thing. That whatever they are creating, content, whether they are doing content, movies, I have a very good friend Anas Daily who runs a very good business and he is scaling it. So I think they do it so that they can outlive themselves. That even after they are around, whatever they created will continue making a difference with so many people's lives. And we will see a lot more creators and entrepreneurs getting together to create companies and brands which will, you know, leverage both their strengths. This is bound to happen. It is a sure shot thing.
Now entrepreneurs are becoming creators and creators.
Yes. Correct. Okay.
But I have to ask, this mindset has come with you since the start? And what is this journey, you know, has it taught you so much? What is like that we all...
I think we are learning every day, Anusha. None of us won this way, I think. But I think what, you know, bonds entrepreneurs at the heart of it, and I think this thing, you know, I was thinking a lot during the entire shoots, and I felt what are those things that bring all of us together, not sharks, pitchers, sharks, all entrepreneurs, is an undying self-belief. I think you have to be so strong. Like I have been saying again and again, your heart has to be made of steel and at least your body has to be made of steel. So I feel, what is this common thing that makes all of us, like I tell Nitesh, I belong to different worlds.
Kunal and I belong to two different worlds. You know, Kunal, who was from, was on one of my panels. But we instantly hit it off. Right? And I didn't meet him before. Similarly, like Ritesh again, you know, I met him for the first time at his wedding, literally. You know, I met him briefly before that but properly. And I, one day I said no. I was not going out. I was going to something else in life at that time. And for four months I had not stepped out of my house to go anywhere. Then our common brother, my Rakhi brother, and his brother called me and said, yar, you have to come to Ritesh's wedding.
Okay.
So one thing, yar, no, you have to go to this. Can't say no. No, so I think there is something which all of us have in common. Which is this grit. Obviously, you know, combination of persistence and heart makes it grit. Whatever. But also this thing that everyone stands up for each other. Like you can't imagine, you know, when I have fallen down, when I have been in a rough spot, I have had my entrepreneur friends who have been there for me like bricks. Because only an entrepreneur can understand an entrepreneur's pain. I think, you know, birds of a feather flock together. Because we are all going through the same thing at the same time.
I think it's the same shit different day, man. I am sorry for my friend, should cut out, but I think that's what it is.
But look, one thing is, I thought, I felt like you felt like these people are talking so sensibly, so sensible. But I just wanted you to know that look, when giving advice, it's very easy to be wise. Right? There is a very popular, you know, The Man in the Ring. It should be actually everything.
Human in the Ring. Person in the Ring.
Neutrality.
No, that's the book's name, but I think it tells you that whoever is in the ring knows what's going on. You can know 100 details, but when you are in the ring, you are in the ring. So to that extent, we have the great honor of giving advice to the pitchers. But what they do is really their thing. We are just a 1% contributor.
Like you said, coach and player. I think, yar, in the ring, the coach is shouting so much, do this, do that, use your brain, you have to win it yourself.
And the best part about being an entrepreneur is listen to everyone. Do what you want to do.
Do what you want to do. And you have to do what you want to do. No investor is going to come and run the company for you. We can only advise and then the best part is you listen to this, listen to that, take what you want and do what you want. Because it's your baby, your company, you are responsible for it.
In fact, you know, I think one thing I have learned during entrepreneurship is the whole world will give advice, yar. Okay? So much free advice. So today now, if I have to offer someone any advice, I always ask them first, do you want some unsolicited free advice? You know, because I feel let people do what they want to do. Because we have all been through this phase where people told us don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. Like, yes, so nobody would speak, yar, and so many wise people sitting around you, okay?
Right. At such times people tend to give more. And especially when you are falling, going through a hard patch. And I think all of our businesses, all of us personally, have been through our patches. You know, the whole world will come with bottles, drums, cans, and buckets of advice. But I think that's the time you have to be really, really strong and, you know, do what is right for yourself.
Right. But during your rough phase, how do you guys, you know, pick yourself up? Because everyone has seen a dream and then there is a twist in the story and then you have to again back up.
You know, I have failed at a business very, very publicly. Had to shut down the business. And at that time, frankly, I did not understand mental health and mental wellness and everything. But what got me through is a set of like wonderful spouse and a set of really good friends. You know, nothing. I mean the importance of having a partner whom I can go home to and, you know, kind of dump my whole day on. You know, friends with whom you sit twice a week in the evening and curse the whole world. And then showing up at work the next day as if nothing happened. That is what really got me through my lowest, darkest phase of my life. And again, and now I think back and realize that my friends and my wife acted like a shrink for me at that time. And I think surrounding yourself with people who love you, being blessed with having, you know, we were just discussing having the right partner in life. Those are things which really kind of help you go through the bad and then next day show up and start again.
It always ends up with family only. No matter how much you talk about it, family. Absolutely.
You know, the person you marry is probably the biggest and the most important decision of your life. If you marry the right partner, your life is blessed. If you marry the wrong partner or get the wrong investor, your life is going to be a bit difficult.
And I think, yar, Anusha, there's a saying, I don't know how to say it rightly, but people say in your good times, everyone is there for you. In your hard times, only, only real people stand by you. And I think I can speak for all three of us. We have been blessed with amazing human beings around us. Like he mentioned, you know, spouses, we've got the friends we have got. And I think that's obviously, you know, one of the biggest support factors. But I think more important than that is, yar, you really have to be very, very, very...
You know, you have this undying self-faith. Undying self-belief. That, yar, I will get through it. It's mind over matter.
You know, Ritesh was just telling me, I don't know, you, cancer. When you're 21. When anyone asks me what happened, I say cancer was the best thing that happened to me because you know it taught me mind over matter, yar. When you believe, everyone told me four months, four days, four years. A lot of combination permutations happened in life. But I went to a doctor, I said I'll have a drink with you 40 years later. He said yes. I said boss, now we will treat this. And he was the youngest doctor out of all the doctors I had met. And I had my own theory, I said the youngest one has studied the most. So older you get, lesser you work. And then actually turned to be the case. So we obviously fought the disease together. But you know, when anyone asks me how did you get through, I said boss, it was this. You know, there were days I couldn't take chemo because my body was not capable of taking it. But my doctor told me, said if you miss a round of chemo you are giving the cancer a chance to grow. So, you know, when your body is saying, refusing the chemo, thank you so much, you still go and you still take that thing. It taught me that whenever you are going through any hard times, you have to really, really believe in yourself. And, you know, make sure your mind doesn't get affected. The moment your mind gets defeated, I think that's, that's half the game. And as much as we're talking about spouses, friends, everything, I again, I am speaking with the three of us, a lot of people who never burden us. And I, I don't know them very well, but I can say it, with whatever, I don't know them, okay. Half the things, na, are bad, they don't tell. They'll only tell good things when they go home. Half the time I can't know about my husband's problems from the newspaper, literally. Because they don't want to listen, the company. Because you know then you find out this happened, this happened too. Like what I will, you know, call his team unofficially to check if everything is okay in a bad mood. So I know we don't burden those around us. You know, when they feel the pain, then I think all of us, at the heart of it, have a mind which we can, you know, which we make sure doesn't get conquered during the hard times, probably.
Oh well, I think. He's said so much, now what should I say? No, no, but look, I think this is an incredible story. And we look at Yuvraj Singh from outside and get inspired. Now we have someone in my company. Who is, yar, whose own story is such an incredible story, right? And similarly hers.
