In Season 4 of Shark Tank India, entrepreneur Radhika Rajpal introduced Patch Up, a health and personal care startup from Gurugram. During her pitch, Radhika sought an investment of ₹50 lakh for 1.75% equity, valuing the company at approximately ₹28.57 crore. Her product and vision impressed the sharks, leading Anupam Mittal to invest ₹50 lakh for a 2.27% equity stake, adjusting the company's valuation to around ₹22 crore. Now, in an exclusive conversation with Times Of India TV, Radhika got candid about her brand, her deal with Anupam Mittal and more.
Experience on the tank
The experience has been out of body, even though you know you are going to see yourself on the big screen but it's something you are not prepared for. For me, I had to watch it twice to get used to the fact that I was seeing myself. Overall, it was very interesting with all kinds of ups and downs, the response has been very good and overwhelming. With all the inventory running out and orders pouring in.
Radhika's journey with her brand
It was a very long journey, what you see finally is the product but there is a lot of thought that went behind what kind of delivery format should we begin with. So with Patch Up, I actually wanted to get into the clean supplement space. Patches weren't the first thing I did, I was trying to make clean supplements without the additives. Then the first step was to figure out how to make gummies, pills and all. Then I was searching for the delivery format, and that is when I tried patches. So I actually started with another brand and patches were one of the products, I wanted to see how they performed amongst the three. The customer reaction gave me the idea to make it into a serious business.
How her brand navigates among big brands in the market
I think the first differentiater is the delivery format itself. Navigation becomes relatively easier. Our brand is already catchy and the way we bring in customers is obviously advertising. But we have even interested them in the information that we provide. The second most time is spent on the science page to understand how the patches work. People have used patches for a long time for pimples, nicotine and all. What we are saying is that we are using the same technology but for a better cause.
Namita's concerns about the patches
Namita was right in the concerns that she had. She also mentioned that this product is quite popular in the US and other markets. The product is proven and the delivery mechanism has been used for a long time. So what needs to be proven is whether the ingredients that we are using are working or not. We have only taken clinically proven ingredients. We are putting it together and bringing it to the Indian Market for the first time.
On taking Namita's feedback seriously
Her first concern was the fact that we had written trials on the package. We understood what she was saying and it was very fair advice to us, the place that we were coming from was the batch trials. That is why we had not written clinical trials, so now we removed that as well. We don't want to misguide the customers in any way. That was very good feedback so we worked on it. The next step we did was to initiate the clinical trials and we are trying to access them.
Choosing Anupam over Aman and Peyush
It was a very surreal moment. For me, the decision was quite simple as I am building the startup out of pure passion. I am trying to solve an issue that I know is difficult as pointed out by Namita and Peyush as we are building a category and going after the big brands of nutraceuticals. But at the same time, the only reason I am able to do this is because I am passionate about it. When it comes to Anupam, I felt he was the first person on that panel who was sharing that passion. I have been following him for a long time, I know how serious he is about his fitness, food and all. So having an investor who understands your product is a blessing. Only then the investor can help you take things to the next level.
Anupam calls her the best entrepreneur
That was the best moment, it was all worth it even just for that one comment. Anupam's team has been helping out quite a bit already. We even met and had a detailed conversation regarding our passion towards the brand.
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