E-Paper
‘Flying Beast’ Gaurav Taneja gets rejected on Shark Tank India, called ‘terrible entrepreneur’ by Anupam Mittal
Popular YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, widely known as Flying Beast, faced rejection on Shark Tank India Season 4 while pitching his fitness brand BeastLife.
Popular YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, widely known as Flying Beast, faced rejection on Shark Tank India Season 4 while pitching his fitness and wellness brand, BeastLife. Accompanied by his business partner Raj Gupta, Taneja sought ₹1 crore in exchange for a 1% equity stake in the startup, which focuses on easily digestible protein supplements.
Gaurav Taneja’s pitch on Shark Tank India
Gaurav Taneja and Raj Gupta’s pitch began with an impressive claim that BeastLife generated ₹1 crore in sales within an hour of launching its password-protected website. This achievement was largely attributed to Taneja’s massive online following, which includes 9.5 million YouTube subscribers and 3.7 million Instagram followers. Despite these promising figures, the pitch quickly ran into turbulence.
Flying Beast faces rejection
Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, raised concerns about Taneja’s ability to evolve into a full-time entrepreneur. “You are a good influencer, but you can’t outsource entrepreneurship,” Mittal said, labelling Taneja a “terrible entrepreneur.”
Mittal said that success requires undivided focus and warned Taneja against spreading himself too thin between his influencer career and various business ventures.
Other judges echoed Mittal’s concerns, questioning Taneja’s divided attention, fragmented equity structure, and long-term commitment to his brand BeastLife. These factors ultimately led the Sharks to reject the pitch.
Gaurav Taneja’s clarification
Before the Shark Tank India episode aired, Taneja took to YouTube to clear the air around his sales figures.
Taneja addressed media misconceptions in a YouTube vlog, clarifying that the ₹1 crore sales figure represents revenue, not profit. “People have started thinking that I earn ₹1 crore in one hour, but that’s not how it works. It’s revenue, not money in the pocket,” he explained.
The YouTuber also addressed criticism about going to the show for marketing instead of fundraising. “"I wanted both, marketing and the money. You can't run a business without them. We went for both, it's not like we didn't want the marketing. We did. The biggest companies of the world want marketing,” he said.
