'Rude, smug, greedy': Shark Tank entrepreneur says was harassed online after pitch

Shark Tank India 2: Yushika Jolly is the CEO of Paradyes. (Image: yushikajolly/LinkedIn)

A Shark Tank India season 2 entrepreneur, who went to pitch her hair dye brand with her husband on the show, claimed that after the episode aired, she has been called names and harassed online.

Paradyes CEO Yushika Jolly, in a LinkedIn post, chronicled the aftermath of the episode that had the judges fighting with each other over investing in the company.

She said that she has received misogynistic messages after the episode and people abused her while her husband was praised for his “excellent negotiating skills”.

“I’m starting to believe that we, as a country, despise women for being assertive and having opinions. In the last 48 hours, I have been called "rude," "smug," "manipulative," "greedy," “bi***” and "unprofessional." Hate messages abound in my DMs, in the comments on my personal page, and even on my brands' page. I draw attention to the gender prejudice because, in contrast, my husband, who is also the co-founder, is getting praised for his excellent negotiating skills and his smile,” Jolly wrote in a detailed post.

She also explained why she chose to go with “Sharks” Vineeta Singh (Sugar cosmetics) and Aman Gupta (boat) instead of Peyush Bansal (Lenskart) or Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com) even though Bansal’s offer was better and was exactly what they wanted (Rs 65 lakh for 1% equity).

“As a founder, I’d like to believe I know my business better than any keyboard warrior. We decided to go with Aman and Vineeta for 2% at that time since we thought they were better suited to our needs. We could have chosen Peyush if we were truly that "greedy”,” she wrote.

She also talked about how her family business of Rs 800 crore has garnered a lot of attention with many allegedly saying that she is there because of her family business.

Jolly also had a response for those.

“I lost my father one month after starting Paradyes. He was my biggest supporter and would have been the happiest to see me where I am now. I could have easily sat back, joined the family business, and enjoyed the benefits of my father's hard work. I made the decision to create something of my own with my family’s help. We weren't on Shark Tank for my family's business; that wasn't the deal. At Paradyes we have our own R&D and manufacturing setup, which was sufficient to secure the deal we proposed,” she wrote.

She also said the “one positive outcome” from the show was her booming business.

“Following our airing, our sales have almost doubled on our website and in a few specific marketplaces. Our website has seen a 20x spike in traffic. Numerous distributors and retailers have contacted us. In the last two days, our Instagram has gained more than 9k followers,” Jolly said.

Aman Gupta commented on the post shutting down haters.

“You were amazing. There aren’t many businesses where Shark fight happens like this. This shows the power of the entrepreneurs and the start up. Secondly, you did really well and did what was right for your business and your customers. That’s what matters at the end of the day,” he wrote.

Yushika Jolly and her husband Siddharth Raghuvanshi went with Singh and Gupta's offer of Rs 65 lakh for 2 per cent equity for their temporary hair colour brand “Birds of Paradyes”.