The founder of BharatPe, Ashneer Grover’s personality has unfolded itself to people who hardly knew him before Shark Tank India. Media reports and appearances on the Kapil Sharma Show alongside his stint as a shark on the Indian version of Shark Tank are giving a clearer picture of his frame of mind. By now, we think it’s safe to say that Ashneer Grover can’t exactly be called a ‘kind’ man. In fact, his co-sharks Namita Thapar and Anupam Mittal have expressed how they didn’t appreciate some of his comments on the show. That, and the media reports about his abusive phone call against a Kotak bank employee are doing the rounds of the Internet. Here are 10 mean statements made by Ashneer Grover on Shark Tank India:
1. “You are nothing, brother.”
When an Automotive Engineering graduate Siddarth Gupta showed up with his ‘inventions’, Ashneer made several scathing comments. He said, ‘You have wasted someone’s seat at the German University, ‘You are wasting your degree here’. These comments were highly demotivating and ‘typical middle-class dad’ of Ashneer as pointed out by co-shark Peyush Bansal.
2. “This sounds more like a hobby type business:
There was a slight tussle between Jayanti Bhattacharya, co-founder of India Hemp and Co., and Ashneer Grover on a Shark Tank episode. Ashneer’s comments about how her business was more of a ‘hobby’ than an actual business were pretty mean which she countered by asking if it was because she was a woman.
3. ‘Half the designs seem to come from Janpath’
When the co-founders of ‘Modern Myth‘, a designer handbags start-up showed up with their designs, Ashneer said, “Half of these designs seem to come from Janpath, another half from Rajouri garden, a little from Sarojini Nagar, and some from GK (Greater Kailash)”
4. ‘These are all double standards’! (Yeh sab doglapan hai):
When Sulay Lavsi, owner of underwear brand ‘Bummer‘ said that he would like an offer specifically from Aman Gupta of Boat for his marketing expertise, Ashneer took great offense. He went on to raise his voice and reprimand the entrepreneur when he delivered the famous line, ‘Yeh sab doglapan hai!’ which has now become a favorite meme among Shark Tank viewers.
5. ‘This seems like a gimmicky product. Do not sell it’:
When Baldev Jumnani and his wife from Shrawani Engineers pitched their ‘belly button shaper’ product, Ashneer reprimanded them for wasting his time. He also asked the entrepreneur to become serious in life and that his life would be ruined if he spent even half a second more selling the product.
6. ‘These are money swindling tactics!’:
When Purva Aggarwal from Good Good Piggy presented her ‘EdFintech’ app, Ashneer took offense about the ‘jargons’ she was throwing around. He also said that she was too young to know about business. And that she should get off her high horse of language and jargon.
7. ‘This is entertainment, nothing else!’:
When Pratik Tirodkar and Ashish Patil from PNT Robotics and automation solutions pitched their robot to the sharks, Ashneer said, “You have turned your college project into life. This is a mere toy. This is of no use to anyone.”
8. ‘I have never seen a product as disgusting as this in my life!’:
Rohit Warrier from Sippline Drinking Shields irked Ashneer from the get-go. He received criticism from the BharatPe founder when he said, “This is the first and last product of its kind in the world. I never want to see a product like this ever again. God save me. Your sales guy must surely have been beaten up” Ouch!
9. ‘This is very ugly fashion!’
Niti Singhal, the designer of ‘Twee in one‘, a reversible and convertible clothing brand was on the receiving end of Ashneer’s brutal honesty when he said, “I do not think you are talented. This is frankly very ugly fashion. I think you should shut this down. Please sell a lehenga with your mother for 2 lakh rupees. Why are you wasting your time?”
10. ‘You can’t solve the problem!’
The Bharatpe co founder did not mince words while giving his honest feedback to Mayank Pareek from Scholify. He was of the opinion that the entrepreneur should find a job. He also stated that he was not up for the task of making a unicorn out of his company. Furthermore, he asked him to leave the business and stated that he was wasting his time.
