A sibling duo from Delhi pitched their food truck manufacturing business on the latest episode of Shark Tank India. They said that they want their company, Schickwheel, to become synonymous with the industry, like Colgate is with toothpastes. They asked for Rs 75 lakh in exchange of 1% equity, valuing their company at Rs 75 crore. The brothers said that they initially wanted to start their own food business, but after noticing how difficult it is to get food trucks made in India, discovered a gap in the market. Now, they manufacture custom trucks, kiosks, and carts for brands and corporates.
The brothers said that they began operations eight years ago, and are expecting to hit Rs 15 crore in revenue this year. Peyush Bansal said that their profitability is too low, and that they need to pivot their processes in a significant way if they want to scale the business. Because he couldn’t see an exit for himself, he bowed out of the deal. Vineeta Singh said that she was interested, but offered them a Rs 7.5 crore valuation, which they rejected outright.
Anupam Mittal was interested as well, but he told the brothers that they need to standardise their trucks to a degree and maximise profits. He also felt that they are too highly priced for the market, and could be undercut by smaller players. “Yeh bada business nahi banega,” he said, “The food trucks I’ve seen don’t have such high quality material, but they get the job done. A small-time guy who wants to start a food business will never buy your truck. The only people who’ll buy your trucks are either brands or corporates.”
Aman Gupta, on the other hand, said that he could sense an opportunity here. He recalled eating at ‘chowmein waale thele’ with his now-wife, and how nostalgic the experience was to him. He offered the brothers Rs 75 lakh, but asked for 5% equity in return. Kunal Bahl, who only enters deals if he’s very bullish on the business, said that he could take them to IPO, but it would be a long game of 25 years. He offered the brothers Rs 2 crore for 10% equity.
After consulting among themselves and their businessman father on the phone, they told Aman and Kunal that they wouldn’t want to lower the valuation to below Rs 50 crore. Aman dropped out of the deal, and Kunal asked if there was any room to negotiate at all. They said that there wasn’t. Kunal was surprised. “Aap yeh jo gajar mooli kar rahe ho, it won’t make a difference in the long run. There is no difference between 6% and 4% when you build a business big enough to go the IPO level,” he said. The brothers rejected all offers, and Peyush accused them of making a big mistake.
