“Make All 4 of Them Regret” – Kanika On Misfits Deal at Shark Tank India Season 5

A distinctive D2C and community-focused firm called Misfits made waves on Shark Tank India Season 5 Episode 37 with a strong pitch that got one of the sharks to invest ₹1 crore. In a sea of conventional product-oriented presentations, the brand stood out for its emphasis on creating offline communities and experience-led engagement rather than just selling items.

Related: “Toone Aake Tamasha Kiya Yahan Pe” – Anupam to Kalakrit Founder on Shark Tank India Season 5

Misfits isn’t your average brand of consumer goods. The company, which was founded by a group of enterprising individuals whose names have not yet been made public, has established a place for itself in the D2C ecosystem by fusing digital engagement with in-person community experiences. This approach seeks to bring like-minded customers together both online and offline.

Community building is at the core of Misfits’ growth strategy, in contrast to the majority of D2C firms who just concentrate on product sales. Users can organize and take part in local clubs, events, and tribe-based experiences that cater to common interests, such as fitness meetups and creative workshops, thanks to its mobile-enabled platform. During their pitch on Shark Tank India, the sharks were drawn in by this experiential advantage.

Official Website – Misfits

Four entrepreneurs, Saurabh Sharma, Shaswat Kar, Chaitanya Dhawan, and Shashwat Narhatiyar, started the company in 2022. They were all motivated by the same issue: digital social media platforms were not able to create real human interactions.

What started out as unofficial gatherings during their time as college students in Gurugram developed into a formalized offline community-building tool. Their goal is straightforward but effective:

Create a world where people can form meaningful friendships and belong to communities in the real world — not just online.

Before its Shark Tank India appearance, Misfits already demonstrated notable progress:

• Organic traction without heavy marketing — reported 25,000+ app downloads and 3,000+ social meetups organized, primarily in the Delhi NCR region.
• Membership reach across hobbies — clubs organized around varied passions, indicating broad appeal.
• Independent club leaders — members who take ownership of building their communities, boosting platform stickiness and local engagement.

This early traction was achieved largely through organic word-of-mouth growth rather than paid acquisition, demonstrating strong product-market fit within urban social audiences.

Misfits has also been growing its internal team, with 11–50 employees working to scale operations, community programming, and product development.

App Metrics:

Monthly Active Users – 25000

Weekly Active Users – 9000-10000

Daily Active Users – 3000

Monthly Meetups Delhi NCR – 700

Sports Meetups – 30-40 Meetups

Average Attendance Per Meetup – 20

Average Booking Value Meetups – Rs 270

Gross Booking Value Split:

Misfits – 30%

Club Leader – 70%

Venue Commissions – 10%

Amount Raised – Rs 5 Crores (January 2024)

Monthly Burn – Rs 21-22 Lakhs

When the Misfits founders made their pitch in the Tank, it seemed instantly different from those of other consumer businesses. They began with a problem statement rather than a product: despite being digitally active, modern urban consumers feel more and more alienated. Their main argument was straightforward but impactful: people want to feel like they belong, have a common identity, and interact with others in person rather than only virtually.

According to them, Misfits is a community-focused website that aims to connect like-minded people with offline tribes. Through carefully chosen clubs, meetups, and events, the site allows users to connect locally, regardless of their interest for health, creativity, entrepreneurship, or specialized hobbies. Misfits was positioned by its founders as an ecosystem for human connection rather than just an app.

The company’s founders explained their monetization strategy to the sharks when they inquired about what the business “sells.” The revenue sources, which included event tickets, premium memberships, partnerships, curated experiences, and relationships with local brands, were centered around community-led commerce. The pitch highlighted that long-term value is driven by engagement and retention rather than by quick purchases.

The sharks dug deeper into the topic of scalability. Questions centered on network effects because community enterprises frequently find it difficult to expand beyond early adopters. Each new user, according to the founders, boosts the platform’s local density, which encourages more events, greater involvement, and greater brand loyalty. They stated that instead of being dependent on ads, growth becomes organic and compounding.

When the conversation turned to competitiveness, it was a pivotal moment. Sharks questioned how readily the concept might be replicated on social media or event applications. In response, the founders emphasized Misfits’ emphasis on identity-driven communities rather than generic get-togethers. Their unique selling points are shared culture, emotional attachment, and recurring engagement—all of which are more difficult to replicate than physical attributes.

The Ask

The founders asked for Rs 1 Crore for 1.25% Equity at the valuation of Rs 80 Crores.

Sharks Reactions

Shark Anupam Mittal could not make sense of the business, he gave the example of Whatsapp and how people operate their daily lives with it. Thus, he backed out.

Shark Aman pointed out the app’s occasional usage and lack of business model fit, he opted out due to this.

Shark Mohit Yadav suggested the company to focus on building their own clubs rather than platforms, so he backed out as well.

Shark Kunal Bahl doubted the liquidity of users and could not trust the platform at this stage. He didn’t offer anything.

Shark Kanika, on the other hand, gave an offer of Rs 1 Crore for 3.33% at the valuation of Rs 30 Crores.

Founders wanted the valuation to go higher and gave counter offer of Rs 1 Crore for 2.5% Equity at Rs 40 Crore Valuation.

Shark Kanika gave last offer Rs 1 Crore for 3% Equity at Rs 33.33 Crores Valuation.

In the end, the founders had no option but to accept Kanika’s offer – Rs 1 Crore for 3% Equity at Rs 33.33 Crores Valuation. Hence, the deal was made.

With the ₹1 crore investment secured, Misfits aims to expand its footprint beyond the Delhi NCR region into new urban markets. The team intends to leverage their funding to scale operations and enhance their platform, driving organic growth by increasing the density of local “offline tribes” and interest-based events.

Future efforts will focus on diversifying revenue through community-led commerce, including premium memberships and partnerships with local brands. By prioritizing user retention and meaningful real-world interactions, Misfits seeks to transform from a regional tool into a robust ecosystem for human connection.