‘Aise 5 business khade kar sakta hu’: Aman Gupta scolds Shark Tank India 5 pitchers who sought Rs 2.5 crore in funding for startup built with Rs 47 lakh | Television News
Aman Gupta has established himself as one of the most gutsy judges on Shark Tank India 5. The former CMO of boAt has backed several startups whose founders were struggling to sustain their businesses. Earlier this week, Aman invested Rs 2 crore in a loss-making company, taking his investment commitment total to Rs 22 crore. However, he is not generous with every pitch. In the latest episode, Aman pulled up the founders of packaging brand EzPac for what he described as an unrealistic ask.
EzPac is an affordable packaging brand that caters to businesses requiring small quantities of packaging material. The founders claim to operate profitably using proprietary machinery. During their pitch, they also reminded Vineeta Singh that they had previously provided services to her company, Sugar Cosmetics.
Seeking to scale their operations online, the brothers appeared on Shark Tank India Season 5, asking for Rs 2.5 crore in exchange for 5 percent equity, valuing the company at Rs 50 crore.
However, from the outset, the sharks appeared unimpressed. While Vineeta Singh noted that their machinery was similar to several others in the market, Aman Gupta questioned them about their customer acquisition cost. The founders’ inability to clearly present the numbers only deepened the panel’s scepticism.
Discussing their financials, the founders admitted to cumulative losses of Rs 10 lakh over two years, turning profitable only in 2025-26. In 2023-24, they reported revenue of Rs 6 lakh but operated at a burn. In 2024-25, revenue rose to Rs 82 lakh, with an EBITDA of minus Rs 7 lakh. Year to date, they have generated Rs 1 crore in revenue and expect to close the year at Rs 2.5 crore, with a current EBITDA margin of 5 percent.
‘Aapke jaisi 5 company khade kar sakta hu’
When the founders revealed that their website was developed just a month back, Aman Gupta said, “Khoda pahad nikla chuha.” As their numbers didn’t correspond to their demand for investment, Aman pulled up the founders and said, “Your business has been offline until now, you have invested a total of Rs 47 lakh in this business, and you have come here asking for 2.5 cr. Itne mein, main aapke jaisi 5 company khade kar sakta hu, kyun apne Rs 2.5 crore daalunga? (In that amount, I can start 5 businesses like yours. Why should I put my Rs 2.5 crore in this?) Had you come here asking for Rs 30-50 lakh, it was understandable, but you are asking for Rs 2.5 crore in return for 5 percent, the math is not mathing. I will not invest my hard-earned Rs 2.5 cr for this. I am out for now.”
Namita also decided to opt out and said, “This is a very cluttered industry; there is potential, but there are too many players too. So putting Rs 2.5 crore in an industry like this, it’s a big amount, and I don’t have the appetite to take this kind of a risk.” Vineeta also exited from the pitch and said, “This market of packaging vendors is very competitive. In our company, to save 50ps on a monocarton, vendors outprice each other and operate on a very low margin. My suggestion is that you shut down your offline business and make it 100 percent online, with payment at the time of order, and fix your economics. Then, try to raise capital.”
Ritesh also opted out and said, “I suggest you go deeper in the B2B segment and make your cost structure your competitive advantage. You don’t have the resources or the runway to do B2B or D2C together, so I am out.”
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Kunal also withdrew from the pitch but offered help to the founders. He said, “There is one fundamental issue in this business, it’s called a leaky bucket business. Eventually, your customer will leave you, even after you acquire them. When they grow out of the low MOQ value proposition, their business expands, they will have an open field, they will go to 10 people and negotiate, so many will drop out. I am out today, but I want to give you an opportunity. Our unicommerce and shipware cater to around 8000 brands. If you want, I can get you integrated there, so that if any brand needs packaging printing, they can do it from you.”
Shark Tank India 5 streams on Sony TV and SonyLiv from Monday to Friday at 10 pm.
