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Shark Tank India: Dadasaheb Bhagat, a former daily wage earner turned entrepreneur, described how he went blank inside the tank and why he rejected Peyush Bansal’s offer.
Dadasaheb Bhagat, the creator of Designtemplate.io, had an outstanding pitch on Shark Tank India recently. The Sharks were deeply impacted by the pitcher’s life tale. Dadasaheb confessed on the show that he quit school after Class 10th due to family duties and worked as an office boy at Infosys, earning Rs 9000 per month. Before that, he was a daily wage earner, earning Rs 80 per day. However, his affinity toward design inspired him to launch this successful graphic designing firm, Designtemplate.io, in 2018.
When he presented his digital product on the show, he requested an investment of Rs 1 crore for 2.5 percent equity. Dadasaheb received proposals from Aman Gupta and Peyush Bansal, but he chose to conclude the deal with Aman for 10% equity and Rs 1 crore investment. In an exclusive interview with Indianexpress.com, Dadasaheb described why he declined Peyush’s offer, as well as how he went blank during his pitch and how Radhika Gupta assisted him.
Dadasaheb Bhagat reveals why he chose Aman Gupta’s offer over Peyush Bansal on Shark Tank India
Dadasaheb described his encounter as “very exciting, something I had never imagined.” When I walked in, there was a positive vibe. I began speaking, but after the first two phrases, I went blank. Radhika Gupta encouraged me, gave me water, and Peyush advised me not to present it as a pitch. But it took me about ten minutes to feel normal.
Dadasaheb also discussed how Shark Tank India has changed his life, stating, “The minute the Shark Tank India episode was published, our traffic increased 100X; previously, it was approximately 200-300, but now it is 20000. Even the sales have increased by 20%. Big Venture capitalists and investors are suddenly calling me. I’d never seen this kind of circle before.
While Peyush made an offer to Dadasaheb for royalty, Aman objected, causing conflict between the two. When asked why he chose Aman over Peyush, Dadasaheb responded, “If Aman had not offered, I would have accepted Peyush’s royalty proposal. Our cash flow is strong, so paying royalty isn’t a major concern, although I would have requested a higher amount.
The difficulty with Peyush was the valuation and his willingness to sell the product on other platforms. Mine is a digital product, and Peyush suggested I sell it to third parties, but they are our competitors. So if we continue to tie up with them, no one will come to us. My projection is for 100 crores; with this approach, we could not have made even Rs 10 crores. Aman gave me that flexibility and advice, so I selected him.”
He also said, “Compared to me, they’ve seen bigger business pitches, so I respect them all.” Both Peyush and Aman were interested in the business and witnessed my progress. Aman saw my personal narrative, while Peyush focused on the business aspect, but both wanted to invest. So their rivalry aided me positively. I could have negotiated, but I figured if such a powerful individual comes to me with a valuation, that’s a significant issue.”
When asked about the next steps with Aman Gupta, Dadasaheb explained, “The due diligence is ongoing; I recently met Aman at an event where we both spoke. He was really friendly, and we exchanged formalities.”
Dadasaheb demonstrated that he admires Aman’s marketing-oriented mind approach. When he received the money from Aman on the television, he referred to him as the ‘Baazigar of the tech world’.
