‘Shark Tank Pakistan’ is a Pakistani reality television series in which bold entrepreneurs pitch their innovative ideas to Pakistan’s top business tycoons in hopes of attracting investments for their businesses.
The first season of the show aired on November 3 2024, and grabbed massive attention from audiences across the country. Here are some important insights from the show, from the judges to the famous pitches, so let’s get to know it all.
Shark Tank Judges and What They Do
Shark Tank Pakistan brought together a diverse panel of seven investors in total. Here is an introduction to each of these prominent business figures.
Romanna Dada
Romanna Dada is a Dubai-based businesswoman with more than 20 years of experience as an investor, banker, consultant, venture builder, and founder of Women Collective and other PWC ventures. She has been very successful in her career and has also helped many businesses on the Shark Tank platform.
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Aleena Nadeem
This shark is an MIT alum and is the CEO & Founder of EduFi, bringing innovative financial solutions to education in Pakistan. She has also previously worked at big companies like “Ventura Capital” and “Goldman Sachs” and understands well how business and money work on a global level. Surely, Shark Tank pitchers were lucky to get help from a shark as efficient as Aleena.
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Rabeel Warraich
From MIT to Morgan Stanley and now leading Sarmayacar, this judge is among the most polished entrepreneurs in Pakistan. He really cares about helping Pakistani businesses succeed. Warraich has invested in some famous companies, including Bykea, Dawaai, ProCheck and Patari, which shows how much he believes in the future of Pakistani startups. So, surely all the business owners that were able to get him on board were in good hands.
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Faisal Aftab
This Pakistani-American titan in tech has a 25-year history in the world of technology and was the most experienced among all the Shark Tank judges of season 1. Faisal started a VC firm, Zayn VC, and is known for his game-changing ideas about technology.
With his help, companies he’s invested in (including Haball, NayaPay and Bookme.pk.) have raised over 50 CRORE rupees. His guidance was invaluable for the emerging entrepreneurs who pitched on the show.
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Junaid Iqbal
This judge, Junaid Iqbal, is the founder and CEO of Salt Ventures. He is also the head of Careem Pay, which is a way to pay for things using Careem, a popular ride-hailing app. Before Careem, Junaid was the CEO of a company called Elixir Securities, which helped people invest their money. He was also one of the first people to work at CNBC Pakistan, a famous news channel.
Who wouldn’t want a judge as experienced as Junaid? Shar Tank Pakistan did a favour by getting him on board.
Usman Bashir
The show also had another veteran on board. Usman has over 15-plus years of experience in the retail and gas station industry, as well as related to Breaktime Corner Market LLC.
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Karim Teli
Lastly, to wrap up this list we have Karim Teli, the managing director of IGLOO Ice Cream. Teli’s entrepreneurial spirit and business-minded thinking have revolutionised Pakistan’s ice cream industry.
His global impact in business management and IT added a robust retail and consumer goods perspective to the shark team.
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The Most Famous Pitches of the Shark Tank Season 1
Some of the most famous pitches from the first season of Shark Tank Pakistan include:
AiBL’s AI-Integrated Prosthetics
This season, Hasnain Khan and Ali Raza Mohsin pitched their idea of creating AI-integrated prosthetics for people with disabilities. This was proved to be a very innovative idea and gained a lot of attention from the whole nation.
Agribotx’s Robotics-Based Farming
Anjum Javed pitched his idea of creating robots to modernise farming practices in Pakistan. This was a much-needed business idea as a great portion of our country’s economy depends on farming, and hence this idea stood out a lot for judges and interested viewers.
Aeroengine Craft Private Limited’s Aerospace Tech
Dr. Sara Qureshi pitched her company’s work in building drones and other aerospace tech. This innovation by Sara had the potential to be revolutionary for the aeronautical industry.
Important Tips That We Learned from These Pitches
- Always tell a compelling story to gain the attention of the audience.
- Share your personal journey to connect with people.
- Explain the inspiration behind your product.
- Create an emotional connection with the investors for connectivity.
- Provide complex technical details and do your homework beforehand.
- Highlight the potential for growth in your sector so that the sharks get interested in investing in your business.
Entrepreneur Who Succeeded in Getting the Biggest Investment
The largest deal on the show was made with a trading company, Saraaf. This company was a commodity-sourcing company that specialised in importing and exporting minerals and commodities. They aimed to connect international markets with suppliers in Central and South Asia.
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Saraaf closed a deal of 5 million USD (RS. 200 Crore) that set new records for the history of Shark Tank. This incredible accomplishment surpassed the previous record of $2.5 million, setting a new benchmark worldwide.
Why Some Businesses Failed to Get the Investments?
Some entrepreneurs on Shark Tank Pakistan failed to secure investments due to a combination of factors. This included concerns about the business model’s scalability and unclear product quality that had chances of getting customer complaints.
Many business ideas also lacked market research, had inadequate financial projections and high valuation expectations, which made the investors uncertain about wanting to invest in a business like that. Additionally, it was seen that the businesses that failed to comply with Pakistan’s regulatory environment and had potential taxation issues were also rejected consistently.
Will there be a Shark Tank Season 2?
Overall, the whole season was an immense success and showcased the interest our nation holds in such reality shows. Some gave constructive criticism and preferred the show to be more about empowering entrepreneurs and less about investment. Nonetheless, this was just a tiny bit of criticism and the show was still widely praised. The success of the show now has people waiting for season two. Will there be one? Well, the official website suggests that there will be an upcoming season, but there is still yet no official announcement. I guess we have to remain patient.
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