Countless entrepreneurs landed their dream funding on Shark Tank India while a dozen others went home penniless. Ashneer Grover’s verbal barrage was a nightmare for all entrepreneurs who made an appearance on the show. Rohit Warrier and Niti Singhal were among the lot who were mocked and ridiculed on national television by the BharatPe cofounder.
Rohit Warrier, Founder and Director of Warrier Safe Shields came to Shark Tank India with his product Sippline Drinking Shields which serves as a portable attachment for your glass. His company envisioned promoting hygienic drinking behaviour where one’s lips do not touch the glass avoiding cross-contamination of any kind. Warrier asked for an investment of Rs. 75 lakh for 15% equity in the company (Rs. 5 crore valuation). When Rohit concluded his pitch, Ashneer immediately said “Main out hun” and termed his invention as “wahiyat”. While schooling him, Ashneer also asked him to be respectful of the fact that he has been given the opportunity to present his product at the cost of someone else missing out on the same. Aman Gupta, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of boAt, continued to guffaw throughout the entire conversation.
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Back then, Rohit had responded to Ashneer’s ruthless criticism by saying that he was entitled to his opinion but there are others who find the product worthy. In a recent interview, Rohit was seen taking a dig at boat founder, Aman, when asked about the brand of his headphones “Yeh made in China stamped in India nahi hai, yeh Bose ka QC 30 hai.”
Niti Singhal on the other hand is the founder of the fashion line Twee In One which specialises in customised reversible clothes that are an ideal fit for any occasion. She asked for a 30 lakh investment for equity of 7.5% (company valuation: Rs. 4 crores). Niti, just like Rohit, also faced brutal feedback from Ashneer in addition to her products being derided on national television. Not to sugarcoat his statements, the ex-BharatPe MD also said that no one would wear her clothes and that she should quit wasting her time.
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Niti took to her Instagram account on Thursday sharing a video of her meet up with Sippline founder, Rohit Warrier and captioned it as “Weird pitches? not so weird now!”. Both were seen sitting at a café table and promoting each other’s products.
Despite Ashneer’s dismissal of her business idea, the fashion designer later revealed that the outfits she sent him were worn by his wife, Madhuri on The Kapil Sharma Show. On the show, Ashneer said, ‘Mere ghar me to tumhare kapde koi nahi pehenega’ (Nobody in my house will wear your clothes). Niti pointed out Ashneer’s hypocrisy saying that it’s ironic how he always says, ‘Yeh sab dogalapana hai’.
Given their Ashneer connection, Netizens found the two meeting to be quite amusing. “Divided by Shark Tank, united by Ashneer,” one fan wrote. “Jab do logon ke dushman ek ho to dosti ho jati hai,” said another (When two people have common enemies, they become friends). Another commenter referred to their gathering as “Shark tank ke khilaf morcha” (joint front against Shark Tank).
