Shark Tank India: Startup founder aspiring for unicorn comes on show, Ashneer Grover tells him, 'Tere se nahi ho payega'

It is a dream of every entrepreneur to convert their company into a unicorn and one such entrepreneur had come to the business reality show, Shark Tank India with such aspirations. The entrepreneur, Mayank Pareek from Bangalore pitched his startup, 'Scholify' on the show but had to leave empty-handed.

Pareek explained that his app makes the process of obtaining scholarships easy with just a click, bridging the gap between students and obtaining scholarships. The app aims to help those who cannot avail education loans. He claimed that he has 7.5 lakh users and offers scholarships with CSR funding. He demanded Rs 50 lakh for 7.5 equity.   

The makers had shared the video of the pitch recently and it opens with Anupam saying 'Are wah kuch alag dekhne ko mila.' But he was too very soon disappointed and did not fund the project as he said he's not able to understand his business model or the market as yet. Pareek revealed that he has earned nothing from the app and is particular about not offering loans as he feels it beats the purpose of his app. 

This did not go down well with the sharks when they learned that the app has offered 2,200 scholarships and yet, did not earn anything. Aman Gupta, CEO of boAt, said unicorn is just a fad and suggested that he does not run after creating a unicorn company. He further suggested that he could probably take a commission or give loans and earn some revenue. 

Gupta recalled how he had to mortgage his MBA degree to repay his loan and earned it only after working for 5 to 6 years. Ashneer Grover, who was the co-founder of BharatPe, also shared some bits about his life and said that he knows there is a good market for the product and the problem that Pareek is trying to solve is good and something he hasn't heard before. But he added that Pareek should consider earning some revenue through commission and look at the possibility of giving away loans too.

Later, after hearing Pareek's experience, Ashneer said that he does not have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. "Tere se nahi ho payega. I'll tell you the reason why. You could have asked the student who got scholarship through your platform to do coding for you. You are not able to solve your own problem, how will you solve others'. You should leave it, get a job and save your time," he said. 

Meanwhile, season one of the show was also judged by Anupam Mittal (founder and CEO of Shaadi.com), Namita Thapar (executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals), Vineeta Singh (CEO and co-founder of SUGAR Cosmetics), and Peyush Bansal (co-founder and CEO of Lenskart). Based on the US show, Shark Tank, the reality show is about aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to sharks for funds in exchange for a stake in the company. The show is available to stream on SonyLIV.