Prachi, an entrepreneur from New Delhi, took the stage on Shark Tank India to pitch her home decor brand Chokhat, aiming to create India’s answer to IKEA. She asked for ₹50 lakh for 7% equity, valuing her business at ₹7 crore. The brand specialises in luxury home decor with animal- and nature-inspired designs, aiming to make high-end home decor more accessible.
Prachi shared that she had run the business solo since 2018 but recently began hiring. When Anupam Mittal pressed her on employee pay, she revealed that her highest-paid employee had earned ₹15,000 before being let go last month.
Currently, her company has two employees — one earning ₹10,000 per month and another ₹7,000. She admitted that her reluctance to hire earlier stemmed from the fear of having to fire people.
Anupam pointed out the disparity: “Ek taraf toh aap kehte ho ki you want to do the best for these people; on the other hand, you are paying them lower than minimum wage.” Prachi admitted she needed help building a strong team and sought funding to create a one-year salary runway for her employees.
Peyush Bansal and Aman Gupta questioned how she could grow if she hesitated to take such steps. “Aapko kya pata kab kisko hire karna aur kab nikalna?” they asked.
Her journey and persistence impressed the sharks, but her challenges in adapting to change became a sticking point. She admitted that selling on Amazon didn’t work for her due to high return rates. Vineeta Singh urged her to rethink her strategy. “Agar aap customer se dushmani karengi, toh aap kabhi ghar-ghar nahi jaa payengi,” Vineeta said.
Despite setbacks, Prachi revealed her ambitious plans. After earning ₹4.5 lakh in her second year, she is targeting ₹1 crore this year and hopes to grow her revenue to ₹6 crore in three years by expanding into other home decor products.
In the end, Anupam Mittal and Peyush Bansal offered ₹30 lakh for 10% equity and ₹20 lakh as debt at 10% interest for one year, sealing the deal with Prachi.
