changeadminShark Tank India, a business reality show that began its journey in India in December 2021, was not only a success from the public interest perspective but it also helped in promoting entrepreneurs and their businesses. In the 35-episode first season, 67 homegrown businesses got funded out of the 198 pitches, with investments of Rs 42 crore. Many of these businesses became household names because of their massive visibility.
The Shark Tank Season 2, which premiered in January 2023, was even bigger in terms of the number of episodes that were shown and the investments that were made. Season 2 aired 50 episodes and a total investment of Rs 81.16 crore was made in 95 businesses.
Another fascinating aspect of Shark Tank India is the promotion of many startups that are working in the environment, sustainability, and climate sectors. As many of these companies work in the niche sector, they don’t get the visibility that they deserve. Therefore a show like Shark Tank helps in highlighting environmental issues and also creates awareness of the solutions that exist.
Like Season 1, Shark Tank Season 2 also showed many startups that are working in the environment space. If you have not read our previous edition which we did for the Season 1 of Shark Tank India, you can read it here.
Here are the startups from Shark Tank India that put sustainability and the environment at the forefront.
Gear Head Motors
Hyderabad-based Gear Head Motors makes Electric Bicycles & Tricycles. At the show, they presented 4 bicycle models, L, I, F, and E and all of them come with detachable Li-ion batteries. The bicycle can run for 60km on a single charge.
In FY 2021-22, the company clocked a revenue of Rs. 3 cr.
Aman and Peyush invested Rs. 1 cr for 6.67% Equity for the valuation of Rs. 15 cr against the counter offer of Rs. 1 Lakhs for 2% Equity.
Founders: Meher Sai & Nikhil Gunda
Daily Dump
Bangalore-based Daily Dump design and develop composters
They have a wide range of products and their patented product is Terrabite which makes composting very easy. The work is very simple. Simply put your dump in the dump can and mix the magic powder. After 30 days it will decompose and will produce manure.
Their products are named Khamba, Gobble Senior, and Gobble Junior.
Their targeted customers are of two types. One is a community composter, used by housing societies and sold through offline channels. Another one is the Home composter, used by individual houses, and sold through online channels like Amazon, etc.
Daily Dump got the deal of ₹30 Lakhs for 4% Equity & ₹50 Lakhs Debt from Namita Thapar against the original ask of ₹80 Lakhs for 4% Equity.
Founders: Poonam Kasturi
Flatheads
Bengaluru-based Flatheads makes shoes using materials like linen, bamboo, and banana fibers. Due to the innovative material used, Flathead shoes are lightweight, breathable, and environmentally friendly.
Ganesh started Flatheads in 2019 after significant corporate and entrepreneurship experience. The company sells the shoes on its own website and the marketplaces. In FY 2021-22, the company did sales of Rs. 3.4 crores.
Due to the considerable cash burn since its launch which has put the company’s survival at stake, the founder was not able to convince Sharks of the deal of Rs. 75 Lakhs for 3% Equity but Ganesh perseverance won the hearts at the show.
Founder: Ganesh Balakrishnan
Padcare Labs
Padcare Labs is solving an extremely pertinent problem of recycling sanitary pads. The disposal of sanitary napkins in India is mostly disorganized and unhygienic. As per Ajinkya, the founder of Padcare Labs, India disposes of more than 1200 crores every and more than 98% of them ends up in landfills and water bodies. The plastic-based material composition of sanitary napkins makes them extremely hard to decompose.
Pune-based Padcare Labs provides a menstrual hygiene management ecosystem, with three products – Padcare Bin, Padcare X, and Padcare Vend.
Padcare Bin helps in storing used sanitary pads for about a month. Padcare X is a sanitary pad recycling and disposal system that is enabled by patented technology. This system helps in extracting materials like plastic and paper from sanitary pads that can be further made into other recycled products. This particular machine has the capability to process 15000 pads per day. Padcare Vend is a sanitary napkin vending machine that dispenses sanitary pads.
Padcare Labs got the deal of ₹1 cr for 4% Equity from Anupam, Namita, Vineeta, and Peyush against the original ask of ₹50 Lakhs for 2% Equity
Founder: Ajinkya Dhariya
Econiture
Amravati-based Econiture is into waste management and making furniture from plastic waste. The company collects the plastic waste, segregates and processes them into wood-like lumbers.
Post which the plastic lumbers are made into outdoor and indoor furniture pieces. The company has a range of products made with plastic waste like tables, chairs, stools, benches, stands, etc. At the show, they mentioned that making one 24 kg bench can consume 40 kg of plastic.
Founders: Madhur, Roshan, Bhushan, Ashish
Ubreathe
Gurgaon-based Unbreathe makes air purifiers using plants. A normal plant can be put inside the Unbreathe device and it can increase the capability of a plant to provide clean air equivalent to 100 plants. Their root-based technology can remove various germs and filter the air.
They have three products, Ubreathe Mini, Ubreathe Life, and Ubreathe Wall.
Their products are available on their own website and online marketplaces and the sales for FY 2021-22 were Rs. 47 lakhs.
Unbreathe got the deal from Namita for ₹50 Lakhs for 5% Equity & ₹1 cr Debt against the original ask of ₹1.5 cr for 7.5% Equity
Founders: Subham Singh and Sanjay Maurya
Flhexible
Jaipur-based Flexible makes products out of recycled paper using honeycomb structure technology.
The company is founded in 2019 by a husband-wife duo, Abhimanyu and Shilpi, who are architects by profession. The products include foldable sofas, wall partitions, benches, etc. The use of recycled paper makes the products lightweight and eco-friendly.
In the financial year 2021-22, the sales were Rs. 16 lakhs. Flhexible was unsuccessful in getting the deal against their ask of ₹50 Lakhs for 7.5% Equity.
Founders: Shilpi Dua and Abhimanyu Singh
Scrap Uncle
Delhi-based Scrap Uncle is an on-demand scrap-selling platform. The company has automated the recycling process of waste. Customers can book their service online and Scrap Uncle will send verified agents to collect scrap from various sources such as homes, offices, etc.
The revenue in FY 2020-21 is Rs. 35 lakhs and in FY 2021-22 is Rs. 1.48 crores
Scrap Uncle got the deal of ₹60 Lakhs for 5% Equity from Amit against the original ask of ₹60 Lakhs for 3% Equity.
Founder: Mukul Chhabra
Geeani
Ahmedabad-based Geeani makes electric tractors.
As per the company, there are about 100 million farmers in India who have less than 5 acres of land, and because of their low income, these farmers cannot afford tractors. Therefore they bring tractors on rent which consumes 60% of their income.
Geeani tractors are designed for farmers who have small land holdings and can also be used for intercropping. The compact design makes the tractors lightweight (550 kg), affordable, and more efficient than diesel tractors.
Geelani bagged the deal of ₹1 cr for 10% Equity from three Sharks Aman, Anupam, and Vineeta against the original ask of ₹75 Lakhs for 7.5% Equity.
Founders: Divyarajsinh Bihola, Prajal Geeta Menon and Anitha Panikar.
Swadeshi Blessings
Rajasthan-based Swadeshi Blessings is artisanal kitchenware, and home decor brand which makes clay kitchenware as well as from marble and wood. Through their products, Swadeshi Blessings is promoting the use of clay and local artisans.
The company was started in the year 2020 in Kankroli, a small town located close to Udaipur, are selling its products in India and also in a few foreign countries. In FY 2020-21, the sales were Rs. 30 lakhs and in FY 2021-22, the sales were Rs. 1.8 cr.
Swadeshi Blessings got a deal of Rs. 25 Lakhs for 5% Equity & Rs. 25 Lakhs debt from the two women sharks Namita and Vineeta against the original ask of ₹75 Lakhs for 7.5% Equity.
Founders: Dattatera Vyas, Sunita Vyas and Madhavi Paliwal
PMV Electric
Mumbai-based PMV Electric has made India’s first two-seater, fully electric, smart microcar, named EaS-E. The company which started in November 2018 has plans to bring a revolution in the cars segment by launching a separate category of two-seater cars.
Due to its compact body, it will take up less space on the road and will provide sustainable mobility options to Indian consumers. The PMV car can be controlled by a mobile app, with features like location tracking, switching the headlights, moving the car, etc. can be done from outside the car. The complete structure and software of the car are made by the PMV team.
PMV Electric was not able to get the deal against the original ask of Rs. 1 cr for 1% Equity.
Founder: Kalpit Patel
Nirmalaya
Delhi-based Nirmalaya makes incense sticks and perfumes (ittar) from flower waste.
Flowers are a huge part of many rituals in temples and homes. However, after use, flowers are thrown away in rivers which causes water pollution due to the chemicals which are used to increase the flower life.
Nirmalaya solves this problem by using flower waste to make herbal incense sticks, aroma oils for therapy, and chemical-free organic perfumes. Their products are organic and herbal and are also certified by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Nirmalaya could not get the deal from any Shark for the ask of Rs. 60 Lakhs for 1.5% Equity.
Founders: Rajeev Bansal, Bharat Bansal, and Surbhi Bansal
Hornback
Hyderabad-based Hornback manufactures the full-sized, foldable electric bicycle.
Though the popularity of electric bicycles is increasing every day, it is not something that can be carried in the car, metro, bus, etc. Hornback foldable bicycles solve this problem, where a user can fold this bicycle easily without lifting it.
They have installed a 250W battery which gives you a 45 km range with a charging time of 4 hours. The folding and locking mechanism is very easy and simple:
Horbback got the deal for Rs. 50 Lakhs for 2.5% Equity from Amit against the ask of Rs. 50 Lakhs for 1% Equity
Founders: Rajkumar Kewat and Nishit Parikh
SWYTCHD
Bengaluru-based Swytchd is a subscription-based electrical vehicle rental company.
After working for 10 years in the automotive industry, Sameer started Swytchd to provide electric vehicles to users on rent. The subscription-based service is useful for consumers who want to try EVs before owning a vehicle and also for drivers looking for short-term sustainable mobility options.
SWYTCHD was unable to get the deal of ₹50 Lakhs for 3% Equity
Founder: Sameer Arif
GrowiT
GrowiT provides protective farming products that protect the farm from different agents that can damage the crops like weeds, pests, and plant diseases. In addition, ensure that the consumption of water, fertilizer, and pesticides is reduced by 50%.
Given the challenges of climate change, increasing crop yield and farm productivity will greatly help in boosting food security in India. Growit’s solution can greatly help in this regard.
Their 80% of business comes from Mulching, which is a structure made up of plastic that can be used to retain the moisture of soil and prevent weed growth and pests and insects. The sustainable aspect of their mulching is that they also buy back the plastic and recycle it for the next use.
They have clocked sales of Rs. 20 crores in FY 2021-22
Namita and Peyush made the deal by taking 1% equity for 50 lakhs and 50 lakhs debt at a 10% interest rate against the ask of Rs. 1 crore for 1% equity in the company.
Founders: Saurabh Agarwal and Akshay Agarwal
Metro Ride
Bengaluru-based Metro Ride is an AI-based 100% electric-based platform that connects daily commuters to public transport. Through the Metro Ride app, users can book 2-wheelers and 3-wheeler electric vehicles which can drop them to the nearest metro or rail station.
Their services are available in Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, and in FY 21-22, the sales were Rs. 54 lakhs.
Metro Ride couldn’t get the deal that they sought of ₹75 Lakhs for 1% Equity
Founders: Kaaman Agarwal and Girish Nagpal
Wrapping Up
This season of Shark Tank India featured seven Sharks – Namita Thapar of Emcure Pharma, Anupam Mittal of Shaadi.com, Ghazal Alagh of Mamaearth, Peyush Bansal of Lenskart, Aman Gupta of Boat, Amit Jain of Car Dekho and Vineeta Singh of Sugar Cosmetics. Ashneer Grover of BharatPe was dropped from the show.
While not all the environment-friendly startups shown in the show got funded by the Sharks, it definitely highlighted certain issues which are not covered extensively in the mainstream media. So whether it is about Daily Dump that showed the composting, Nirmalaya which highlighted flower waste, or Padcare brought sanitary waste to the forefront.
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