Ritesh Agarwal Investments in Shark Tank India
The third season of the famous Indian business show witnessed Ritesh Agarwal as the new Shark. Founder and CEO of OYO Rooms Ritesh Agarwal Funded Startups that he believed to be successful. He also introduced a unique concept which is known as “advisory equity”.
This unique concept from Ritesh Agarwal involved offering founders shares at Rs 10 per share in exchange for advisory insights so that the company can grow. Now, using this unique concept we will see some of the amazing startups where Ritesh Agarwal Invested in Shark Tank India.
Startups Funded By Ritesh Agarwal on Shark Tank
Rodbez
Two major online cab booking companies which have grabbed a good share of the Indian market are Uber and Ola. But, Rodbez is one of those companies which is making its way to compete with these huge players. It is a one-way taxi carpool platform which has its headquarters in Bihar.
The role of this platform is to connect passengers with taxi drivers and eliminate the need for two-way return fares. Yes, it’s a very exciting and unique startup and this simple idea has reduced travel costs by up to 40% and saved 60% on fuel.
Rodbez was introduced by Dilkhush Kumar who is a 29-year-old graduate from Bihar and used to run a vegetable business in his hometown.
Hearing at this unique business idea and the problem they were solving, Shark Ritesh Agarwal became very interested. Ritesh Agarwal along with Vineeta Singh made an investment of Rs 20 lakhs with a 5% equity stake.
Blix
Another unique and amazing company where Ritesh made his investment is Blix. It is a toy company which specializes in DIY (Do It Yourself) concept. This company provides remote-controlled toys and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) kits to small children.
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This DIY concept offers children with unlimited hours of playtime and creativity-building skills. Blix manufactures and sells such types of robotic toys because they want younger children to increase their innovation skills and curiosity.
Due to their strong commitment to child development, they have partnered with formal education institutions like Disney and Oxford University.
Both Ritesh Agarwal and Namita Thapar were quite interested in this unique business opportunity. These entrepreneurs including Ritesh Agarwal invested Rs 80 lakhs for 4% equity in the company.
Dil Foods
One of the most-talked companies to have appeared in Shark Tank India season 3 is Dil Foods. Just like its name, this company operates in the food delivery and restaurant industry of our country.
The primary focus of this company is on connecting kitchens with a little extra capacity to smart online food delivery services.
Dil Foods mostly targets small restaurants which are willing to thrive in the Indian market. They simply tap into the underutilized infrastructure and resources of those restaurants and help uplift or solve any problems that they are facing.
The platform of this company provides the opportunity to people to enjoy their favourtie dishes from various brands but, under same umbrella.
Interestingly, the initial ask from this company was only Rs 50 lakhs for 0.5% equity but, impressed by their business, sharks including Ritesh Agarwal invested a whopping Rs 2 crore for 2.67% equity.
Gud Gum
Gud Gum is an interesting and amazing company just like its name. It is a homegrown Indian company that produces plastic-free, sugar-free, natural, biodegradable and vegan chewing gum.
Now, not many of us will know but, most chewing gum that customer consumes is made up of artificial sweeteners, added colours, fillers, waxes, and flavouring agents.
Moreover, the chewing gum found on the market is not very good for human health. Whereas, on the other hand, Gud Gum offers various flavours of chewing gum which are made with clean ingredients and are good for health. Some of the key features of Gud Gum as a brand are the following:-
- Plastic-free products
- Manufactured and sold using natural ingredients
- No artificial flavours
- Amazing and natural texture
Aman, Vineeta, Anupam, and Ritesh Agarwal together funded Rs 80 lakhs for 10% equity.
Honey Twigs
It is a company which specializes in creating highly innovative and convenient honey-based products. Getting pure honey from the Indian market has become a huge challenge for honey lovers. Most brands sell honey which is not even up to the standard quality of FSSAI.
This is where Honey Twigs as a company has stepped in and offers a range of honey-infused products. The company prides itself by offering mess-free , single-serve packaging, for their products. This type of products made make it a healthier alternative to table sugar that we consume.
Now, some of the different products offered by Honey Twigs which are infused with honey are the following:-
- Lemon infused honey
- Ginger infused honey
- Cinnamon infused honey
Paras Fatnani, the founder of this company earned significant investment from investors including Ritesh Agarwal. This company received a whopping investment of Rs 75 lakhs for 3% equity which was also their ask from investors.
Daak Room
Unlike other companies invested by Ritesh Agarwal, Daakroom is a cultural enterprise. This company or enterprise is dedicated to revive the art of handwritten communication to the world. Daarkroom does this through variouss creative events, campaigns, cultural events, partnerships, products, and workshops.
The mission of Daak Room company is to foster meaningful relationships and promote a digital detox culture. To make everything much more interesting, this company always tries to offer unique and highly engaging techniques that not only inspires people but, encourage them to take up written communications.
Ritesh Agarwal seemed very much interested to this company as it was and is doing something new in our society. He invested Rs 36 lakhs for 6% equity.