Chennai Entrepreneur With Poor Hindi Claims He Was Not Allowed On Shark Tank India

At the popular business reality show Shark Tank India, a Chennai-based entrepreneur has recently shared his unpleasant experience, claiming that he was not allowed to put forth his pitch on the show because of his poor Hindi.

Chennai Entrepreneur Not Fluent In Hindi Disallowed On Shark Tank India

shark tank india chennai man poor hindi/linkedin

Karthik Manikonda, an entrepreneur from Chennai, claims he was chosen for the national TV show Shark Tank India but was not permitted to present to the judges.

Karthik Manikonda is the founder of the mental health startup The Mind and Company, which offers therapy and counseling services. He disclosed that only candidates who speak Hindi fluently are accepted into Shark Tank India in a LinkedIn post published on March 7.

His request for permission to pitch in English was turned down by the producers, as per various media reports.

He Shares LinkedIn Post To Tell What Happened

The Chennai man wrote in his LinkedIn post, "The Mind and Company was selected for Shark Tank India, but was not allowed to pitch to the Sharks.

Reason:

I am not fluent in Hindi

Its a Hindi show

Its a national show

I proposed to allow me to pitch in English.

And I hear a Big NO.

Had they told me other reasons like

- Your scale is not big or

- This industry is too niche or

- You are not investment ready etc

I would have accepted. But I cant pitch in non Hindi language was a bummer.

I don't blame Shark Tank.

They have a format

They have to protect that

But regional startups shouldn't lose out due to the language barriers.

Any ideas how can this be solved?

- AI real time translation?

How do world political leaders communicate in their local language?

#Disappointed but not out."

Also Read: Most Shark Tank India Season 3's Judges Are Sitting Deep In Losses

'It Is Shark Tank India, Not Shark Tank Hindi'

karthik manikonda/linkedin

Hundreds of people have supported the post with supportive comments, urging Shark Tank India, a national show, to lift the Hindi-only restriction. He was questioned by some users as to why he was unable to bring a translator.

¡°I get your point, i should have taken someone along who knows Hindi, Would have done that if the show was called Shark tank Hindi,¡± he responded to one such comment.

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