BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover has spoken about being raw and straightforward in life and his business ventures. In a new interview, Ashneer also joked that he is no Shah Rukh Khan that people would have invited him on the business reality show, Shark Tank India.
In Shark Tank India, entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of ‘sharks’ and they offer their investment as well as guidance in exchange for equity. The show aired on Sony Entertainment Television on weekdays for over two months. Its first season ended on February 4 where Ashneer was one of the ‘sharks’ on the show.
In an interview with Raj Shamani in Figuring Out, Ashneer credited his father for his honesty. He said, “I was doing a business where if you’re dishonest to yourself for even a week, the competition will catch up and kill you. So there was a brutal honesty from within that I had to keep my team and my investors honest too. More importantly, I have to keep myself honest otherwise the market will kill you. In the last fours years whatever businesses I’ve made these are multi-billion dollar businesses and it was possible because there is some level of honesty with yourself and with all your stakeholders.”
He continued, “Now I was going to the show. I’m sitting here. Ab meri koi shakal toh Shah Rukh Khan wali hai nahi ki koi sirf shakal dekh k bolega hannji ‘baetho baetho bhai acha lag raha hai (I don’t look like Shah Rukh Khan that people will tell me ‘please be seated, we like it)’. Na meri koi baritone hai ki main bol raha hun toh logo ko sunne me kaan pe accha lag raha hai (Neither do I have a baritone that people will like when I speak). What’s my value add here? Why will anyone listen to me? They will listen to me if I’ve logic and straightforwardness.”
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Recently, Ashneer was embroiled in a tussle with the board of BharatPe following allegations of using abusive language against Kotak Mahindra Bank staff and fraudulent practices. An audio clip surfaced on social media with claims of Ashneer threatened an employee for missing out on share allotment during the initial public offer of FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which operates an online fashion and wellness company Nykaa. As per news agency PTI, Ashneer was sent on a three-month leave. Reportedly, he said he was ‘arm-twisted’ by the company’s investors into going on leave.
The Shark Tank India’s panel also featured Vineeta Singh (Sugar), Peyush Bansal (Lenskart), Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com), Namita Thapar (Emcure), Aman Gupta (boAt) and Ghazal Alagh (Mama Earth).
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