(MENAFN- Live Mint) Gaurav Taneja recently revealed that he was asked to 'shut down YouTube' during a recent appearance on Shark Tank India . The popular content creator had appeared on the latest season of the show to pitch his fitness brand - Beast Life. Taneja however left the show empty handed after the judges showed reluctance to invest in the company.
“Shut down YouTube and go all in on one business. That's the advice I got from some Sharks on Shark Tank India. During the pitch, one of the Sharks asked if I would continue YouTube. Without a blink of an eye, I confidently said 'yes'. He didn't seem too happy with my response and remarked: 'Aap ka focus nahi hoga, aap waha se paisa bana loge.' But to me, that felt like a risky move - one that could hurt more than help,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
Also Read | Why YouTuber Gaurav Taneja was rejected on Shark Tank India despite ₹1cr sales
The 'Flying Beast' noted that he had more than eight years of digital marketing experience and understood“the power of organic reach and audience trust”. He also noted that the company was already EBIDTA positive and managed to“save nearly 90% of our total expenditure on marketing” because of the distribution it had built.
What did Gaurav Taneja ask for?
The popular fitness influencer - known as Flying Beast - had valued his company at ₹100 crore and sought ₹1 crore for a 1% stake. He also revealed that the sports nutrition brand - Beast Life - had made sales worth ₹1 crore within one hour despite having a password protected website. Taneja said that Beast Life had earned ₹14 crore in revenue over six months and projected ₹35 crore for the year.
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But while some of these details garnered lavish praise from the judges, others raised eyebrows. Shark Aman Gupta had flagged an 'imbalance' in ownership after Taneja disclosed that he held 30% equity while his co-founder owned just 11%.
“There is a difference between an investor and a founder,” he had opined while opting out.
Meanwhile Vineeta Singh and Peyush Bansal cited concerns over the company's scalability and reliance on his personal brand.
“Don't get carried away, it's ₹14 crore in six months. He's pitching himself as the co-founder. Which influencer-led brand has earned money for its investors?” asked Shark Anupam Mittal.
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Taneja also took a swipe at Mittal in his post - noting that Shaadi had 125,000 followers on Instagram (since April 2015) while 8-month-old BeastLife had already secured 127,000 followers on the platform.
“Shaadi might have spent millions to create this distribution. The rules of entrepreneurship are evolving. Maybe it's time to explore and break traditional molds...I'm still a new founder - bold decisions might mean failures, but they also mean learning,” he reminded.
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Fans can catch the new season of Shark Tank India on Sony LIV from January 6. Several of the popular judges have returned to the show for its latest edition while Kunal Bahl - the co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital - became the newest Shark.
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