This show claims to do what Shark Tank does without the drama

• A show called The BarberShop with Shantanu has released the first episode of the second season.
• The show aims to make 20 investments in the course of a year amounting to ₹50 lakh to ₹2 crore per investment.
• Conceptualized by Shantanu Deshpande, founder and CEO of Bombay Shaving Company, it claims to be “authentic without drama.”

Ahead of the release of the highly anticipated Shark Tank India season 2, a similar show – The BarberShop with Shantanu – Raiser’s Edge has launched its second season.

Conceptualized by Shantanu Deshpande, founder and CEO of Bombay Shaving Company, this show aims to shortlist 60 startups and make 20 investments amounting to ₹50 lakh to ₹2 crore per investment over the course of a year.

Deshpande emphasized that the show is about a group of “curious stock seekers and emerging founders” who come together to exchange ideas and forge partnerships. “We are not creating your typical equity financing ecosystem; this is about real value creation that stands the test of the market, and in a format that is open for all to see and learn from,” he added.

Ideally, they prefer early-stage startups to be part of the show, which are post-revenue i.e. the ones that are selling. The startups that will be funded by a group of “friends” who are startup founders, CEOs and business people who want to be angel investors. Ideally, they would like to be the first or second investor in the startup.

The format of the show will also be a bit different from the popular show Shark Tank that launched its first season last year. “We want to be ‘founder-first’ in approach and language. Why wouldn’t it be a fair conversation between two equals, and not a founder and investor on a throne?! Authentic and natural without drama,” said Deshpande in a press release.

Over the course of four episodes a month, released every Friday, founders will showcase their business and story and are invited to access the mentorship, advice, capital and capabilities they need to build successful businesses in India .

The show’s first episode was released last Friday, and within 48 hours, 400 startups have already signed up to be part of the program, the press release claimed. The episode featured Bhopal-based Prateek Vats and Deepesh Shrivastavafounders of Wanderloom talking about how they built a formidable company through Covid.

In addition to Shantanu Deshpande, Mandar Vaidya, CEO of OYO Europe, and Megan Narayanfounder of Slurrp Farm, were also part of the episode seeking shares worth ₹50 lakhs in Wanderloom.

In Season 1, the show featured intimate conversations with the likes of Aman Gupta, Ankur Warikoo, Vineeta Singh, Rohit Bansal and several other celebrated entrepreneurs – showcasing the journey of founders and start-ups and countless shades.

“Over 1.5 crore people tuned in to watch Season 1. A community of over 200,000 novice content enthusiasts has emerged in just three months,” the press release said. The season is powered by Bombay Shaving Company and Bombay and is available on YouTube.