Chennai entrepreneur denied Shark Tank pitch due to Hindi fluency
A Chennai-based entrepreneur was denied the chance to pitch his mental health startup—The Mind and Company—on Shark Tank India due to his lack of fluency in Hindi. In a LinkedIn post, Karthik Manikonda revealed that his request to pitch in English was denied as the show only accepts participants who can speak Hindi. Shark Tank is a business reality show that allows entrepreneurs to make presentations to a panel of investors, who then decide whether to bankroll them or not.
Why does this story matter?
Shark Tank invites aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to a panel of seasoned investors, known as "sharks." Currently, in its third season, the reality TV show features a panel of investors, including Anupam Mittal, Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar, and others. While the show provides a platform for emerging businesses to secure funding and mentorship from industry titans, incidents like these shed light on the loopholes in the show's format.
Manikonda calls for a solution to language barrier issue
While Manikonda said that he understands that Shark Tank India has a format to maintain, he urged for a solution to the language barrier issue. He said, "Regional startups shouldn't lose out due to the language barriers." In his social media post, Manikonda proposed using AI for real-time translation as one potential solution.
I'd have accpeted if there was some other reason: Manikonda
Expressing his disappointment, Manikonda asserted that he would have accepted the denial to his business pitch if there was any other reason than a language barrier. "I would have accpeted it if they had told me that our scale is not big, this industry is too niche or you are not investment ready etc" he wrote. "How do world political leaders communicate in their local language?" he questioned.
Social media users call for elimination of Hindi-only rule
His LinkedIn post garnered hundreds of supportive comments, with many calling for the national show to eliminate the Hindi-only rule. In contrast, some commenters on Manikonda's post also suggested he learn Hindi or bring a translator, to which he replied, "I get your point, I should have taken someone along who knows Hindi. I would have done that if the show was called Shark Tank Hindi."