Shark Tanked!?

The views expressed in the article are personal.

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The SonyLiv Reality show did do its part in establishing the roots of the expected 'New India'. Still, with many controversies surrounding its 'numero uno' Ashneer Grover, has the show delivered what it was meant to or has a shark drowned in his tank?

Standing at 91 unicorns, Indian entrepreneurial growth is on a roll. The country added ten new unicorns within the first 60 days of 2022, with Hyderabad emerging as the new unicorn hub after the Karnatakan capital. While government schemes such as StartUp India, MakeInIndia and those on digitization have added to the impetus that boosts the entrepreneurial will, the reality TV show 'Shark Tank India', with 36 episodes and a rare 9/10 on IMDb, not only create a paradigm shift in the overall business understanding among the ordinary folks but also paved the way for the future.

On the surface, what might seem to be 'just another show', or being seen as the 'Bigg Boss for Entrepreneurs- when you hear ten-year-olds discussing the terms like 'Equity', 'Valuation', 'D2C', 'Supply Chain', 'QSR' etc.- you realize how a 5-day, 9 PM timed show on SONY TV, not only cause the ears to prick up but also acted as an icebreaker to the ever confusing business and market sphere.

The show saw some high-end names such as 'Namita Thapar, Peyush Bansal, Ghazal Alagh, Anupam Mittal, Vineeta Singh, Aman Gupta, but with his 'no-nonsense, straight-faced persona' the fan favourite Ashneer Grover, had been the centre of all talks and discussions for all the good and bad reasons. While the 'dogalapan' might have seemed well on Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms, with reels and posts being circulated, added to this newly curated fame for a completely different audience, the former IIT-Delhi and IIM Ahemdabad graduate and the Founder, MD of BharatPay has been a topic of discussion amidst the smearing controversies, ever since his announcement of a 'voluntary leave', until the end of March 2022.

So what's up with the Ashneer Grover saga?

Well, it all began in January, when a man alleged to be Mr Grover, was heard abusing and threatening an employee of Kotak Mahindra Bank after missing out on the IPO allotment for the fashion brand Nykaa despite being promised one. The former Vice President of Kotak Financing Bank termed the leaked audio as fake (later deleted the tweet) is now facing legal action to use 'inappropriate language' against the bank's employee. But it does not end here; the bank later revealed that Ashneer and his wife Madhuri had previously, in October 2021, sent the bank a legal notice, keeping the cause undisclosed. Ashneer's wife Madhuri, following her partner's footsteps, also went on voluntary leave on January 29th, when BharatPay appointed Alvarez and Marsal (A&M) for an internal audit of the company. While there were many rumours of Ashneer being sacked from the company, BharatPay denied any terminations.

The initial report generated by Alvarez and Marsal (A&M) did prove some financial irregularities. At the same time, they were looking into alleged financial fraud. It was found that the fintech had been paying a certain recruitment fee to several 'consultants'. In as many as five cases, it has been found that there was never any aforementioned 'consultant 'involved. In three of the five vendor invoices, Madhuri Jain Grover is said to be directly involved in receiving and getting them forwarded to the accounts team- with her brother Shwetank Jain being identified as the creator of all those invoices.

This was followed by a letter by Madhuri, the controller at BharatPay, to Alvarez & Marsal questioning the alleged irregularities in the probe being conducted by the fintech firm and her, considering legal action against the media leaks of the probe findings regarding the misappropriation of funds.

Suhail Sameer, BharatPay's Cheif executive, sensing the general sense of uncertainty among the staff at the firm amidst the feud, wrote a letter to its employees stating that "under constant scrutiny and spotlight" and "what is being written is nothing but unsubstantiated rumours", the company plans to go on a full-fledged governance audit based on specific internal complains.

As the events unfolded dramatically in the power tussle between the two giant heads of the company, Ashneer went out seeking protection against him as a part of a settlement plan.

According to Business Standard, key investors at BharatPe have rejected co-founder Ashneer Grover's offer to sell his stake in the financial start-up for over Rs 4,000 crore if he wants to leave the company. He also filed an arbitration petition to defend his 9.5 per cent ownership in the company. Grover also wrote to the board, alleging that he and group product head Bhavik Koladiya had an expletive-laden conversation in the presence of board chairman Rajnish Kumar, a former chairman of SBI.

Grover, who owns about 9.5 per cent of BharatPe's stock, has sought the board of directors to buy out his stake for Rs 4,000 crore in cash. According to various press sources, Grover sells his interest to outside investors. Grover started the sale talks due to an ongoing inquiry and an independent audit of BharatPe, which revealed financial problems at the business.

In the latest turn of events, BharatPay has sacked Madhuri Jain Grover over the misappropriation of funds. Ashneer Grover, who had previously moved to the Singapore based arbitration centre to redress the issue(the plea got rejected), has resigned as the Managing Director of the company and its board.

But does this controversy affect the high toned - Ashneer Grover Phenomenon?

Well, the answer is no. Despite the alleged controversies, many youngsters who have watched the high-end TV show do not shy away from naming Ashneer as their' favourite shark'. And it is not just about the memes or his recently increased appearance on talk shows, youtube channels or podcasts. It goes beyond that. With his no-nonsense, straight-faced attitude, Ashneer has emerged to be an icon for a large number of youngsters and for some very deserving reasons found on the show and beyond:

1. He was highly observant of people's behaviour, has tried finding solutions to their inconveniences.
2. His understanding of the market, the consistent launch of new products, and his high academic background (something a large section of the Indian middle-class fancies) make him an interesting character in the business setup.
3. His ability to be critical and honest of ideas he does not understand, especially regarding the pitches on the show.

All of them making him evidently, 'the talk of the town'.

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This article houses information taken from various news channels, articles, blogs and Youtube videos. For a detailed insight into the same reference to the following links:

1. The Inside Story Of Why Ashneer Grover Had To Go On Leave From BharatPe

2. Ashneer Grover hires legal firm to protect his turf, shareholding at BharatPe

3.Five lessons from Shark Tank India for stock market investors

4. Shark Tank has a winning formula. And it’s taken over TV primetime from soap operas

5. Will BharatPe Terminate Co-Founder Ashneer Grover After His Wife? Here's a Timeline of the Saga