Shark Tank India 3: OYO CEO shocked by pitchers who tried to invest in his hotel chain

OYO Rooms founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal has been grabbing headlines ever since he joined Shark Tank India 3 as the youngest Shark. In a recent episode, fast food brand Zorko pitcher Anand Nahar surprised not just Agarwal but other sharks as well. The duo, along with his brother Amrit, appeared on the show with a unique brand of fast food from Surat. The sharks were amused and curious about their pitch, but the brothers raised eyebrows when they offered Rs 15 crore in exchange for 1% equity. The real shocker, however, was that Anand revealed his previous desire to invest in the Agarwal Hotel chain and recounted how he contacted the company and even sent a private email to the CEO himself.

After explaining his idea of ​​opening a fast food chain, the pitcher shared, “Sir, I also want to invest in Oyo. I even sent an email but the call center people couldn’t understand what I wanted to say. I used to keep calling but It didn’t get through, and then it went to 10 million.” Anand further confirmed his statement by sharing a screenshot of the email he sent to Ritesh, with the CEO reportedly amused by the unexpected turn of events.

The plot of Shark Tank India 3 took another unexpected turn when Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal asked Anand Nahar about his financial ability to invest ‘s turning point. Surprisingly, the bowler revealed that he has set aside around Rs 5-6 crore for investments. He then talked about his investments in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Furthermore, during the pitch process, when Vineeta Singh, co-founder and CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics, asked about the rent of her store, the pitcher revealed that the rent was less than Rs 30,000. However, Vinita did not believe it and claimed that she paid Rs 70,000 as rent for the shop in Surat. In response, Anand humorously commented: “Ma’am, aapko fir loot liya unhone. I can give you the cheapest space. Agar main aapko dilaun? Aap kya denge?”

As the discussion progressed, Anupam Mittal and Aman Gupta (Boat co-founders) felt that the Zorko founders might be hiding something. Anupam then decided to exit the deal, followed by Vineeta and Peyush Bansal (founder of Lenskart), who advised the brothers to focus on their own stores. However, Aman believed the brothers had the potential to grow and expressed interest in working with them.

Ritesh Agarwal and Aman Gupta made an offer for Shark Tank India 3 to Anand and Amrit Nahar. Their offer included Rs 20 lakh in exchange for 1% equity and taking on debt of Rs 130 crore at 10% interest over three years. Despite making the initial offer, Anand gave them a counter-offer, but Ritesh told him to trust the partnership. Anand continued to negotiate further, leading to frustration and hence, both Ritesh and Aman decided to quit.