IIM-educated Shark Tank Indian contestant wears ₹10 lakh shoes on show. Watch judges' reaction

Culture Circle's Devansh Jain appeared on Shark Tank India wearing ₹10 lakh Dior sneakers.

Shark Tank India season 4 has already delivered many viral moments and dramatic face-offs within days of debuting on television. One such moment occurred during the second episode of the business reality show, when a contestant wore ₹10 lakh shoes to deliver his pitch in front of the judges.

Culture Circle founders Devansh and Ackshay Jain appeared on Shark Tank India(Instagram/@devanshjn)

IIM Ahmedabad graduates Devansh Jain, 26, and Ackshay Jain, 27, appeared on Shark Tank India as the entrepreneurs behind Culture Circle, a platform to resell luxury and designer apparel, shoes, bags and accessories.

The duo valued their startup at ₹240 crore, asking for an investment of ₹1.2 crore for 0.5% equity. This demand raised eyebrows among the investor panel, as did Devansh’s choice of footwear - the young entrepreneur wore Dior Air Jordan sneakers worth ₹10 lakh.

₹10 lakh sneakers

Shark Tank India judge Aman Gupta was taken aback by the valuation of ₹240 crore. He further pointed out that the shoes worn by Devansh cost ₹10 lakh.

“Aapko jaise ye bata dun, Devansh ne jo joote pehne hain vo 10 lakh ke hain (Let me tell you, the shoes that Devansh is wearing sell for ₹10 lakh),” Gupta told his fellow panelists, who all expressed their surprise at the cost.

Devansh interjected at this point to clarify that the market price of his sneakers may be ₹10 lakh, but they would sell for ₹6 lakh on his platform, Culture Circle. This witticism drew laughter from the investors.

However, Vineeta Singh was skeptical about the valuation, calling it “waahiyaat” or outrageous.

She also accused the IIM-educated entrepreneurs of using Shark Tank India as a platform to promote their company, taking away a good opportunity from people who actually need funding. This skepticism only deepened further when Devansh and Ackshay revealed they had ₹17 crores in bank reserves.

When Singh opted out of investing in the startup, a bidding war ensued between Kunal Bahl, Ritesh Agarwal, Namita Thapar and Aman Gupta. Finally, Kunal Bahl invested ₹2 crore for 2% equity and Ritesh Agarwal invested ₹1 crore for 1% equity in the startup, valuing it at ₹100 crore.