The business reality show, Shark Tank India 3 has once again attracted controversy as one pitcher has claimed that his company was selected in Shark Tank but then he was not allowed to pitch as he is not comfortable in Hindi.
The name of the pitcher is Karthik Manikonda and he is the founder of The Mind and Company which deals in mental health. Karthik took to LinkedIn and made a post in which he narrated his experience; though he didn’t blame Shark Tank India as it is a Hindi show yet he also asks for a solution as regional companies should not suffer because of the language barrier.
This is what Karthik posted, “The Mind and Company was selected for Shark Tank India, but was not allowed to pitch to the Sharks. Reason: I am not fluent in Hindi, It’s a Hindi show, It’s a national show I proposed to allow me to pitch in English. And I hear a Big NO. Had they told me other reasons like
– Your scale is not big or
– This industry is too niche or
– You are not investment ready etc
I would have accepted. But I can’t pitch in a non-Hindi language was a bummer. I don’t blame Shark Tank. They have a format. They have to protect that But regional startups shouldn’t lose out due to the language barriers. Any ideas how can this be solved? – AI real time translation? How do world political leaders communicate in their local language? #Disappointed but not out. The Mind and Company #SharkTank #IAmOut”
Here is the original post:
The makers and the producers of the show haven’t responded on this matter but this is really disappointing, what do you say?