Shark Tank India Season 2: Anupam Mittal gets emotional during a pitch, remembers his grandmother

Anupam Mittal, the founder of Shaadi.com, got emotional during a pitch presented during the second episode of the much-talked-about show Shark Tank India Season 2. During the episode, one of the participants, Abhishek Baheti and his nephew Divyajeet showed their product to the judges and narrated the story behind the idea of smartphones exclusively designed for children. 

Baheti produces smartwatches for children, which with a mere SIM insertion, can make video and audio calls. It is ideal for children as the watches can operate without a phone, and can help children make video calls and audio calls to their parents at any time, Baheti claimed. 

When Peyush Bansal, CEO and founder of Lenskart, asked Baheti about the story and motivation behind the idea, he shared that he lost a young child in the family to a tragic fire incident.  

Also read: Meet Shark Tank Season 2 Judges: Anupam Mittal, Peyush Bansal, Vineeta Singh and others

He said that their house in Mumbai was engulfed in flames a few years ago. He said of the four people inside the house, he could save only two. A child and an elderly member succumbed to the smoke, whereas Divyajeet and his mother survived the incident. The mishap motivated him to build a gadget that can help children stay connected with their parents in such emergencies. 

All the sharks on the panel were moved by the incident. Mittal too shared that he lost his maternal grandmother in a fire accident two years ago. 

“I remember two years back my grandmother perished in a fire. This thing still makes me think. I keep wondering how long she might have cried for help. It breaks my heart every time I think about it. So why not for old people as well,” he said with tears in his eyes. 

Also read: Shark Tank India returns for a 50-episode Season 2, clocks 3x revenues on SonyLIV

He asked Baheti why he didn’t plan something similar for elders who are equally helpless as children in such situations.  

At the end of the pitch, Baheti was offered Rs 1 crore by Mittal and Vineeta Singh, CEO and founder of Sugar Cosmetics, for 10 per cent equity and Rs 1 crore debt with 15 per cent interest (valuation Rs 10 crore). Other sharks, Peyush Bansal, Aman Gupta, and Namita Thapar though refused to invest in the venture.