- Founder: Pratheek Palanethra & Vishwanath HK
- Business: Automatic Bowling Machine
- Ask: ₹ 75 Lakhs for 7.5% Equity
- Valuation: ₹10 Cr.
- Result: ₹ 25 Lakhs for 7.5% Equity and ₹ 50 Lakhs Debt @10% Interest
- Sharks: Namita Thapar
- Episode: Season 2 Episode 10
Freebowler Shark Tank Pitch:
Freebowler is a company founded by Pratheek Palanethra and Vishwanath HK, based in Bangalore. Their primary focus is on delivering innovative battery and spring-powered mechanical bowling machines, offering an affordable and realistic bowling and training solution. Their product is available on their website and is easy to install after the purchase. Ravichandran Ashwin, an Indian fast bowler, is one of the promoters and investors in the company, as he has a 13.06% stake in Freebowler.
During their appearance on Shark Tank India, the founders shared that they had already successfully sold over 1000+ products to various cricket organizations in 15 countries. Their funding request was INR 75 lakhs in exchange for a 7.5% equity stake. This value the company at INR 10 crores. The sharks expressed interest in witnessing a product demonstration, so the founders showcased two variants: a manual and an electric one. The MRP for these is ₹20,000 and ₹40,000 respectively. They have patents for their products granted.
However, as the discussion progressed and the founders outlined their plans for scaling the business, Namita inquired about customer distribution. Vishwanath clarified that approximately 75% of their products are sold directly to customers, with cricket clubs purchasing around 20-25% of the products, and the remaining 5% being sold to schools and colleges. They further explained their sales performance over the years, citing INR 26 lakhs in FY 18-19, INR 70 lakhs in FY 19-20, INR 53 lakhs in FY 20-21, and INR 55 lakhs in FY 21-22. Their gross margin is 45%, but they are not profitable yet.
Freebowler Shark Tank negotiations:
Anupam, Aman, Vineeta, and Peyush all decided not to invest. Anupam cited concerns about the founders’ business acumen, while Aman was unconvinced by the product. Vineeta believed the product was still in a “pilot product” stage and that competing with larger companies would be challenging, leading her to opt out. Peyush also declined to invest, as he felt the business was at a very preliminary stage and required significant development.
Namita was willing to take a bet, so she made a hefty offer of ₹50 lakhs for 15% equity and ₹25 lakhs debt at 10% interest. The company countered with ₹50 lakhs for 10% equity and ₹25 lakhs debt at 10% interest. Namita said it was too risky but decided to take the bet. The company countered again at ₹25 lakhs for 7.5% equity and ₹50 lakhs debt at 10% interest. Namita accepted the offer!
Let’s take a look at how Freebowler is doing after Shark Tank India?
Our research on the company revealed that while they got the deal on air, their deal with Namita never closed. That being said, the company did experience the Shark Tank effect, as the founders shared on social media that it kickstarted their second inning with over 100 orders in under 3 days after the show aired. While the company’s website is still up and running, their social media has not been updated since Shark Tank aired, which leads us to believe the founders may have moved on to something different and took the Sharks’ advice that they may be too late to get into this now.
Image source: Freebowler Instagram
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