A light-hearted negotiation on Shark Tank India's fifth season boiled over after boAt co-founder Aman Gupta challenged fellow investor Anupam Mittal with the blunt question, "Why did some of your companies close down?"
The exchange unfolded during a pitch from Mumbai couple Varun Duggirala and Pooja Jauhari for EMoMee, a children's "micro-story universe" that drops short lessons on YouTube and is building towards toys and experiences.
The founders sought Rs 1 crore for 2% equity, sparking interest across the panel and a debate about whether content or distribution matters more in scaling an intellectual property.
Gupta, who told the founders he had worked with Duggirala in the early days of boAt's creative strategy, argued that "content is king, but distribution is God", pitching himself as the partner to take EMoMee mainstream, reported The Indian Express.
Mittal pushed back, insisting he understood digital distribution best and that he wanted a bigger stake to get closely involved.
That one-upmanship quickly turned into teasing. Gupta threw a shade Mittal and asked, "Why did some of your companies close down then?"
Mittal fired back, "Bhai teri toh naukri hi nahi bachi yaar (Bro, I don't even have a job now") — a crack about Gupta no longer having a job, referenced in reports as a nod to his recent resignation as boAt's chief marketing officer ahead of the company's preparations for the anticipated initial public offering.
Fellow shark Namita Thapar attempted to cool things down, quipping that a fight had broken out and floating a joint offer, but Gupta declined to team up with Mittal at the moment.
Despite the on-air fireworks, the founders left with a deal that they countered at Rs 2 crore for 4% equity and ultimately partnered with Gupta and Thapar.
Meanwhile, EMoMee said it has posted daily since April 2025, growing from about 1,000 subscribers to seven figures within months and racking up crores of views. However, that scale was overshadowed by the sharks' own rivalry.
The show streams on Sony LIV.
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