Shark Tank judges ghosted pitcher after making deal, alleges contestant: ‘Never met or responded to mails post show’

A contestant from Shark Tank India season 1 tweeted that he had met a pitcher, who not only participated in the reality show last year, but also secured a deal from two of the judges. However, after the show ended, they never met him, or even responded to his emails. In a series of tweets, Akshay Shah, who is the founder CEO, iWebTechno, and was Shark Tank India finalist in season 1, accused two Shark Tank judges of ghosting a pitcher after promising him an investment on the business-based reality show. However, despite being asked by Twitter users to reveal the pitcher or the sharks’ identities, Akshay did not take any names. Also read: Amit Jain’s brutal honesty in Shark Tank promo gives Ashneer Grover flashbacks, Namita says ‘zyaada harsh horae ho’

Taking to Twitter, recently, Akshay Shah wrote, “Met a founder yesterday, who had got a deal from two sharks in season 1, who never met him nor responded to his mails post Shark Tank India – ab kya bolen (what to say now)?” When asked why he did not take the names of the sharks, who ghosted or the pitcher himself, Akshay responded, “Like I said most founders fear, I am helpless. In season 1, what we faced, more than 50 percent of others faced the same or worse, the outcome being Ashneer (Ashneer Grover, who was one of the sharks in the last season) was shown the door and sharks were counselled not to be rude and brash and to be considerate, but no founder came out in the open!”

Another person reacted to Akshay’s tweet, writing, “Don’t just leave us hanging like that. Reveal the name of the company – if not anything else, it would at least give your claims some credibility.” To which, Akshay said, “Most founders don’t have the b**** of steel… none wanna reveal their identity, am helpless!” Akshay also reacted to a Twitter user, who said, “This happens in lot of shows. Not everybody gets funding.” Akshay tweeted to him, “Not getting funding and not getting response post agreeing to fund, dono alag hai boss (the two are different situations).”

Many Twitter users reacted to Akshay’s claims. One wrote, “That’s why I never believed in the credibility of @sharktankindia.” One questioned Akshay, tweeting, “You are mentioning this without any facts. There are always two sides of a story. Plus funding was accepted at national TV, so founder can freely share on social media.”

The first episode of Shark Tank India season 2 premiered on January 2, 2023 on SonyLIV and Sony Entertainment Television. The show is hosted by comedian Rahul Dua. It features six sharks – Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal and Amit Jain. Ashneer Grover did not return for the latest season. Last year, Ashneer, the co-founder and CEO of Sequoia and Ribbit-backed BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri (former head of controls at BharatPe) were ousted from the company amid lapses in corporate governance.