Shark Tank India has new competition on the block, with the Suniel Shetty-hosted show, Bharat Ke Super Founders. The latest episode of the show opened with a pitch from an 11-year-old entrepreneur, Athvik Amith Kumar, who pitched his company, ZOZO Connect. The company manufactures NFC identity cards, which aim to replace traditional business cards for a more eco-friendly and efficient future.
The judges of the show, who are referred to as ‘tycoons’, were shocked to see a child pitch them a company, which he hopes to turn into a unicorn. The panel included Dr A Velumani, Nitish Mittersain, Dr Aarti Gupta, Aditya Singh, and Ankur Mittal. They all received a complimentary card from Athvik, who revealed that he wants to create an entire ‘universe’ of information, which exists through his portal ZOZO. He informed the ‘tycoons’ that he already has 500 customers using his product.
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When asked about how he manages school work while running a business, Athvik replied, “One thing that I learned right in the beginning, is how to manage my time — how to keep a schedule and follow that. One more key thing is that I am a topper in my school. I learn fast; I give myself 60 minutes to study. Then I start my work, and later I play and live the life of a normal child.”
The judges showed some concern about the pricing of the product and whether the card will serve as just a novelty buy. Athvik kept his cool and answered, “We are not focusing on the card sales alone. Because the card only gets you the essential features and not all of them. For that we have a separate subscription model. It ranges from Rs 99 to Rs 599. Most brands stop at CRM (Customer Relationship Management). We separate that into hot and cold leads. The AI model will list out all the hot leads and tell you how and when to pursue them.”
Athvik asked for Rs 2 crore for 8% equity, but most of the judges didn’t think the product was at the final stage. All of them offered their mentorship to Athvik, with Aarti and Ankur offering to invest once the brand reaches a certain threshold. Nitish offered an Rs 11 lakh grant to Athvik and even offered to show him around his company, where he could make further connections and learn.
