- Founder: Yash Gangwal
- Business: Streetwear
- Ask: ₹1 crore 1% Equity
- Valuation: ₹100 Cr.
- Result: No Deal
- Sharks: No Deal
- Episode: Season 1 Episode 23
Urban Monkey’s Shark Tank India Pitch:
Urban Monkey is an Indian streetwear brand with a vision to build a community for the future. They started in 2014 and have now expanded into more than 10 categories with over 500 products. They exclusively sell through their own website and do not use any marketplaces. Yash adds that it is a well-established and growing brand. Their biggest problem is that their stock sells out all the time.
Around 30% of their sales come from eyewear. However, their most popular product is caps, which accounts for 40% of their total sales. They made 5 Crores in FY21-22 with projections to hit 12 crores. In the previous year, they only did 3.4 Crores, but their projection for FY22-23 is at 25 crores. They are a profitable business with net profits last year at 15%, and they expect this year to be at 25%.
Urban Monkey and Shark Tank Negotiations:
The Sharks agreed on a statement that Yash is focusing on too many categories, which is not allowing him to grow his important products. Aman asks Yash if he would be willing to cut everything else and only focus on caps, but Yash disagreed with that idea. Anupam goes out, citing that he is expanding into too many products without solving the supply chain problems of existing products.
Vineeta goes next and adds that she is not interested in the business because she foresees inventory problems. With that, she exits from negotiations. Peyush offers 5 Crores for 50% of the company with a condition that they will only focus on caps and eyewear until the business hits the 50 Crore mark. Peyush guaranteed that he would build this into a 100 Crore brand in 3 years. Aman agrees with Peyush and asks Yash to only focus on caps. With that plan, Aman and Ashneer offer 1 Crore for 10% equity.
Peyush matches Aman and Ashneer’s offer! Yash takes a moment to think and comes back to counter at 1 Crore for 1.33%. Peyush goes out, citing that Yash is not open to feedback. Aman asks Yash to counter one more time, to which Yash responds 1 Crore for 1.53%. Aman rejects that counter, and the Sharks wish Yash the very best.
How is Urban Monkey doing after Shark Tank India?
Our research into the company revealed that Urban Monkey is still in business and thriving. They have over 550,000 followers on Instagram and have collaborated with mainstream brands like Playboy, Raftaar, Bhuvan Bham, etc. It seems that Yash did not take the feedback given to him in the tank, as Urban Monkey has expanded its product line to include multiple different categories after the show aired. They now make boxers, accessories, belts, skateboards, and many more products available through their website. According to a Geeks around the Globe article, their annual revenue as of September 2023 is at 10 Crore with a company valuation of 50 Crores.
Who is the founder of Urban Monkey?
Yash was born and brought up in Hong Kong and moved to India 8 years ago by himself. His parents still live in Hong Kong. He has been into skateboarding since he was 12 and realized that there was no streetwear brand in India when he visited India. That’s how the idea for Urban Monkey came to light.
Image source: Urban Monkey Instagram
Here are the other companies from Season 1 Episode 23!
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