"Most important part is that a founder should have guts." Ashneer Grover, the embattled co-founder of BharatPe and popular "shark" from Shark Tank, was speaking to podcaster Raj Shamani.
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00:00The most important thing is that
00:02the founder should have the guts.
00:03Aman is saying that I am pitching to you and Aman as well.
00:07If Aman says yes, I will say no to you.
00:09If you say yes, I will say no to him.
00:11I knew Anupam from before.
00:12I tried to take money from Anupam once from Bharatpay.
00:19Don't you feel that people who don't drink,
00:21that if you don't drink,
00:22then you miss out and your networking opportunities end.
00:25Once it happens, if you don't get addicted, you don't get addicted.
00:28Then it doesn't matter what's happening around you, right?
00:31Go to a lot of parties and people think that you are not standing with a glass.
00:37So sometimes people say, drink socially, drink wine.
00:41There is no alcohol in this.
00:42This is like coke.
00:44But if you don't want to drink, then don't drink.
00:47And I don't feel awkward at all.
00:49So you don't feel that you missed out on networking opportunities
00:51and couldn't network with anyone.
00:52Yeah, this time you do house parties, friends.
00:55You come to my house, I will give you as much as you want to drink.
00:59So it's not that I have a moral view to drinking.
01:03It's just that I don't drink, right?
01:04As simple as that.
01:05The most important thing is that the founder needs courage.
01:09And how do you decide the courage of the founder?
01:12What are the identifiers like this?
01:13You can tell the courage of the founder by talking to him.
01:16It's like, the one who has to do something,
01:20he has conviction in his voice.
01:23Okay?
01:24He doesn't have all the answers.
01:27So even when he says no,
01:28I don't have the answer to this.
01:30So there is no apology in that.
01:33There is introspection in that.
01:35That brother, I don't have the answer to this.
01:37But I will have to find it.
01:40Okay?
01:41So for me, the honesty of a founder,
01:48that yes, I know this, I don't know this,
01:50but I will figure it out.
01:52And the passion that I have to make this.
01:55That is very important for me.
01:57That comes from conversation.
01:58It doesn't come from Zoom.
02:00Okay?
02:01I will have to sit in front.
02:02Okay?
02:03I will have to understand body language.
02:04Will he be able to do it or not?
02:08Is it for the long haul or is it just fashion?
02:12I have to become a founder, so I have to do this in fashion.
02:16So I can hear from the inside,
02:17yes, I have to do it or not.
02:20Where you don't have to put effort,
02:21normally you can hear within 10 minutes.
02:24Where you have to put effort,
02:26sometimes it takes 2 hours.
02:27Normally, when someone comes to pitch to you,
02:29he needs money from you.
02:30That is a given equation.
02:32Okay?
02:33Here, there was an added dynamic that
02:36he is pitching, I understand it,
02:39I have to put money in it.
02:41But will he take it from me or not?
02:42Because the other person will also give an offer.
02:45So that was an added dynamic, which was fun.
02:48It is not fun in normal pitches.
02:49I think, okay, you came to ask for money from me,
02:51I said yes or no, now you will take a cheque from me.
02:54But it is not that Aman is saying,
02:57no, I am pitching to you, I am also hitting Aman.
02:59If Aman says yes, then I will say no to you.
03:01If you say yes, then I will say no to him.
03:02So there is a competitiveness between the sharks.
03:07That is the added element here.
03:08Which does not happen in normal life.
03:11But I have never seen a shark tank properly.
03:13I have never seen it.
03:14In fact, the show runner, the director,
03:20when he came and he shortlisted me,
03:24he used to send me links saying,
03:28see this, see this.
03:29I have not clicked till date.
03:31I was like, see, I am not going to shark tank
03:36to be an Indian version of an American shark.
03:41I knew Anupam from before.
03:42I tried to take money from Anupam once from India.
03:46Finally, I got the money from abroad.
03:50So I did not take it from Anupam.
03:51But because I knew him since then.
03:54I mean, I pitched him to Anupam.
03:57Not once, but twice.
03:59So I knew that either I know of them or I know them.
04:05And it might be a good set of people to sit with.
04:08Because they have built significant businesses.
04:11And everyone seems to be a different personality.
04:16So then I said, okay, let's do it.
04:19I, in fact, for two dates,
04:23Aman and I both were not there for very different reasons.
04:26I had to go to Dubai for the World Cup,
04:28for the World Cup finals.
04:30It was Aman's daughter's birthday.
04:32So we were absent at the same time.
04:34But interestingly, the week I was absent at the shark tank,
04:37everyone cried that I should bring them to the office.
04:39Will anyone listen if there is logic?
04:42Right?
04:43And there will be a straightforwardness.
04:45That I keep telling you,
04:47yes, it's a very good business.
04:49But I can't invest.
04:51Then the other person will say,
04:52then why did you think it was a good business?
04:54Either you say it's a bad business.
04:56Or if you're saying it's good, then invest the money.
04:59So I don't have that diplomacy,
05:01that it's a very good business, but I'm out.
05:03I don't understand that.
05:05Contradict yourself.
05:07I mean, don't say it's good.
05:09Say no, it's a bad business.
05:10I don't understand, I'm not investing.
05:11Then the person will think, okay, he's talking straight.
05:14And what's the second reason?
05:16I've pitched to many investors.
05:19I mean, I've heard so many no's,
05:21that there's no limit.
05:23And one thing I really liked about investors,
05:26there are very few investors
05:28who actually say no to you.
05:30No, I am not interested.
05:33People will say, yes, let's see in the next round.
05:36You keep sending me this metric.
05:39Brother, why should I send you the metric?
05:42I mean, tell me the end game.
05:45That either you'll invest or not.