How to apply for Shark Tank India Season 3?

Are you're an ambitious entrepreneur aspiring to grow your business with the help of successful self-made Indian investors? Look no further.

Shark Tank Season 3 could be the place for you.

It's definitely not a cakewalk, but its entry code can be cracked.

Here are 5 winning strategies to help you nail your application, impress and land a deal with the sharks.

1. Compelling business idea/mind-blowing product

Before you kickstart your Shark Tank Season 3 application filing, ask these questions to yourself:

Q1. What’s the unique selling proposition of your product?

Q2. Are you filling a gap in the market that the target customers are in need of?

Q3. If you do not offer an entirely novel product, then what’s your competitive advantage?

Q4. Are your prices affordable, or is the quality/design top-notch to attract the already engaged consumers?

If the answer to the above-given questions is a yes, then you stand a decent chance to crack the funding from the sharks.

Do you know one of the most innovative and lauded ideas in Shark Tank Season 1 was by the agricultural tech firm BrainWired which pitched a livestock health monitoring and tracking system named WeSTOCK.

Four sharks, Ashneer Grover, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar and Peyush Bansal, closed the deal of Rs 60 lakh in exchange for 10% equity. Post the investment, BrainWired skyrocketed its sales from a meagre monthly collection of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 35 lakh.

As a startup founder, your sheer will and confidence in your idea/product should be clearly visible to the investors.

2. Be sure of the equity dilution you wish to achieve

Consider the number beforehand. Both the amount of funding and the percentage of equity you are willing to offer. This is of great significance as you would be sharing a percentage of your revenue/profits with the shark if they invested in your company.

Pruthi was offered Rs 1.6 crore by sharks Ashneer Grover, Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar, and Aman Gupta. But the entrepreneur refused to accept the offer since he was unwilling to go above a 1.25 percent equity stake.

3. Work on your pitch. Practise, Revise, Repeat.

Highlight what your business stands for. Prepare your pitch, including answers to these crucial questions.

• What’s your story?
• What inspired you to start the business in the first place?
• Who are your target customers?
• What are your business objectives?
• What are your revenues/profits per quarter?
• How is your product better than competitors?
• Why should they invest in your product?
• What do you wish to achieve with the investment you get?
• What are your marketing strategies and sales targets?

In addition to this, give them projections on how their money will be used and the potential return on their investment.

Pro tip: Make your pitch as interesting as it can be.

If possible, converse in the Hindi language to try to appeal to the Indian audiences who will be watching the show. At the end of the day, it’s an entertainment reality show chasing soaring TRPs. Undoubtedly you must be enjoyable to watch.

4. Do thorough research about the show

As it is rightly said, “Know the Game Before You Play It”.

You might have seen a few episodes of Shark Tank Season 1 and 2 for entertainment, or some of you may have followed it religiously. No matter what, profound research about the show is a must before you fill out your application form. There can be no second opinion about the fact that you must be very well aware of the show's format.

• Watch the previous episodes to understand sharks’ investment preferences.
• Which shark chooses to invest in what type of industries?
• Think from their perspective and prepare a list of anticipated questions and their answers. Revise these, and you are ready to go.
• Read about it, watch videos, and ask questions in communities of like-minded people about the show.

Gather all this information to come up with all guns blazing for your successful application.

5. Your company’s data/stats should be at your fingertips

As founders aspiring to pitch at Shark Tank Season 3, you must be fully cognisant of all the numbers for at least the last three financial years that the Sharks might ask regarding your revenue, profit, GMV, AOV, and other key metrics.

In fact, these stats should be at the tip of your tongue. You must be able to articulate these as and when asked. This will give the sharks an impression of your readiness and devotion towards your enterprise.

You must have watched the viral pitch by the founder of Nish Hair, Parul Gulati, that left the sharks spellbound.

She quickly shared and astonished the sharks with her numbers about the average customer spent on her website and sale numbers from Nish Hair’s different products. With her ambition and calculated projection, she stated that Nish Hair aims to become a INR 100 crores business in the next few years.

The last date to register your Shark Tank Season 3 application is the end of July. You can use this registration link to complete your application form.

Remember, it will be your product, your personality, your pitch, and last but not least, the amount that you demand finally determines if you crack the funding from the sharks.

Register now for an exclusive webinar with Shark Tank India brands here.