“All of India didn’t like it, so what can I say?” Dheeraj Bansal, co-founder of Recode Studios tells business today. Bansal launched its new company brand in Shark tank India 2. Despite decent numbers and a sizable presence, he and the other co-founder, Rahul Sachdeva, failed to raise funding.
Recode sells makeup products and cosmetics. It has a pan-Indian presence in more than 250 stores in India. The products are also sold online through the company’s website and mobile app. In 2021, they also started selling products from other brands on their platform. The brand recently launched three franchised stores in Faridabad, Delhi and Raipur.
While Peyush Bansal (CEO of Lenskart) and Anupam Mittal (Founder and CEO of People Group) were not sold on the brand, Namita Thapar (CEO of Emcure Pharmaceuticals) and Aman Gupta (Co-Founder and CMO of boAt) refused to invest. in a company as it stood in the way of his friendship with Vineeta Singh who also runs a cosmetics brand, Sugar.
After facing backlash, Thapar even tweeted in his defense saying, “Being a shark doesn’t mean we’re not entitled to our independent values and speak out so if I don’t invest in a fellow shark competition that’s me, I do not regret”. And if I call toxicity and I don’t join the ignoramuses who celebrate people with a lack of integrity… that’s me :)”
Also see: Kashmir Mangoge, Kashmir Trip Dedenge: Brands Go Bananas Over Zomato-Blinkit Ad
Recode co-founder Bansal does not want to share any personal comments on the entire incident. He simply says, “It is what it is and that’s why we’re in style.” Bansal, however, says that he went to Shark Tank only because of Peyush Bansal. “He is our favorite judge. We went to the show just for him.” Further explaining why the Lenskart boss is his favorite, he says, “We are an e-commerce platform and Mr. Peyush has experience in omnichannel strategy and e-commerce. We wanted to bring his experience to our business.”
Another bone of contention for sharks was valuation. Sachdeva and Bansal offered to raise Rs 1 crore for one per cent of the equity at a valuation of Rs 100 crore. Clarifying the Rs 100 crore valuation, Bansal says that the sharks did not question much, otherwise it would have justified the Rs 100 crore valuation. He tells BT that they expect to record sales worth Rs 30 crore by the end of FY23. “Mamaearth, Sugar, Plum, Juicy Chemistry are all overvalued by about 10 times, so my order of 100 million rupees with a shark on board was definitely justified,” he reveals.
Recode closed FY22 with a revenue of Rs 15 crore and has already made Rs 11 crore in revenue this year.
So while the startup failed to get funding, it struck a chord with viewers and netizens. Bansal acknowledges that, adding that they have received immense publicity by appearing on the show. “Now I’m getting calls from those corners of the country I’ve never even heard of!” he says.
He says that now they are going to focus on injecting money into Google Ads. “We want to increase our presence on Facebook and Google.” In addition, they also plan to link up with multi-brand outlets to tap into the mass market.
The business duo’s favorite shark couldn’t get on board, but they haven’t given up on the whole funding exercise. “We will reach out to other angel investors and venture capital firms,” she concludes.
