Starting a business from scratch to building it is a task that is synonymous with nurturing a child of one’s own. Starting from the baby steps, the journey is filled with milestones often met with challenges. One such story is of Harsh and Tanvi Somaiya, the co-founders of city-based startup, The Bear House, a men’s clothing brand: they recently impressed the judges on season 4 of Shark Tank, and secured an investment of `3 crore from one of the judges, Namita Thapar.
Reflecting on the experience on the show, Harsh says, “What inspired the judge was how we scaled the brand, coming from a failure of our previous brand, Bloomcraft, which I would like deem a learning curve. When we spoke about our journey, the judges were amazed at our dedication, making sure that we succeeded building the brand profitably from day one.”
As Harsh reflects on the duo’s journey further, it’s clear that their passion and commitment have been instrumental in their success. “Tanvi was seven months pregnant during the pitch interview for the show, as it was a rule for both the founders to be present there. Kudos to her for coming to Mumbai for the interview,” he shares proudly. Despite the challenges, the entrepreneurs were able to focus on growing their brand and this dedication paid off, as the brand secured a big deal of investment. For the Somaiyas, going to the show was always a dream to be achieved. “The only reason we wanted to go on Shark Tank was to create our own insurance by having those sharks – the best advisors – on our board, so that we never saw a failure phase ever again,” he says.
The show has undoubtedly made an eventful change in their professional and personal journey, evident in his recounting of the winning moment. “I wanted to make sure that I bring in experience and expertise, and take proper guidance before making big decisions,” he says, adding, “Getting those sharks on board, because of the experience they carry and the amount of help we can take from them – we cannot put a price on it.”