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Shark Tank India 3: Why did Namita Thapar partially exit Rare Planet investment after 3.5x return?
Rare Planet, founded by Ranodeep Saha and Vijaya Kumar TR, emerged as a success story in the first season of the show, impressing investors like Namita Thapar.
In a move that has caught the attention of the business world, Namita Thapar, Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals and one of the sharks on Shark Tank India, has made a strategic partial exit from her investment in Rare Planet, reaping an impressive 3.5x return on her initial investment.
Taking inspiration from the American business reality TV series, India launched Shark Tank India in 2021 on Sony Entertainment. The inaugural season included seven sharks who actively engaged in and closed various investment deals, marking the debut of Shark Tank in the Indian market and offering a valuable platform for a diverse range of entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses.
The first season of Shark Tank India featured seven sharks, and among the success stories was Rare Planet, a company founded by Ranodeep Saha during his BTech years and later joined by Co-Founder Vijaya Kumar TR. Their journey began with an impressive pitch that caught the attention of the sharks, especially Namita Thapar. Moved by Rare Planet's dedication to social responsibility, Namita made an individual investment in the company during the first season.
Namita Thapar's Journey with Rare Planet
Fast forward two years, Rare Planet has not only thrived but Namita Thapar has become the first Shark to exit with a remarkable 3.5x return on investment.
Rare Planet's success story unfolded with a fivefold increase in revenue and substantial double-digit growth in profit after tax (PAT). The company's impact on the lives of over 10,000 artisans showcased the potential for blending social impact with capitalism, setting a new standard for sustainable growth in the Indian market.
After the initial investment and Rare Planet's impressive debut on Shark Tank India, the company underwent significant expansion, growing from a presence in 5 airports to operating in over 37 airports with 50 stores nationwide. This growth exemplifies how businesses can thrive while contributing to social causes, a sentiment echoed by Namita Thapar.
Namita Thapar, affectionately referred to as 'Namita Maa' by the founders, celebrated Rare Planet's success on social media. She highlighted the company's transition from 75 lakhs a month in sales to an impressive 4 crores a month and emphasized the importance of supporting Indian artisans. Thapar called attention to the challenges faced by the artisan community, including lack of capital, poor expertise in modern design, pricing issues, and limited online visibility.
Namita Thapar supporting Indian artisans
She wrote, “The reason @rare.planet needs to be highlighted and celebrated is not just because it is the largest success story of Season 1 (up from 75 lakhs a month in sales to 4 crores a month) but because it has proved that doing good and being a highly scalable and profitable business can coexist. It has demonstrated that social impact and capitalism can go hand in hand.The founders @ranodeep_saha & Vijaykumar went from empowering 5000 artisans last year to currently 15000, and they won’t stop till they have impacted lakhs more, they say! Here are some hard facts on why we need to support our Indian artisans like Rare Planet does so beautifully. The key challenges of this sector/areas we need to address are a lack of capital and credit, poor expertise in modern design, pricing, and a lack of know-how on how to standardize and mass-manufacture. They have low to no online visibility in India & globally.”
About Shark Tank India 3:
The third season of Shark Tank India showcases a distinguished panel of judges, including Aman Gupta, co-founder and CMO of boAt; Amit Jain, CEO and co-founder of CarDekho Group; Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of Shaadi.com; Namita Thapar, executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals; Vineeta Singh, co-founder and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics; Peyush Bansal, founder and CEO of Lenskart.com; Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of OYO Rooms; Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Zomato; Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss, and Azhar Iqubal, CEO of Inshorts.
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