Air Purifier company Ubreathe Got ₹50 Lakhs for 5% Equity From Shark Tank

Ubreathe is a company that specializes in air purifiers, utilizing their unique Breathing Roots Technology, which enhances a plant’s ability to purify air by 100 times. This innovative technology is capable of eliminating various harmful viruses and gases, making the product eco-friendly and requiring no filter changes for 2 to 3 months. Ubreathe offers three product variants: the Ubreathe Mini, Ubreathe Light, and Ubreathe Wall. Since its launch in 2020, the company has served over 1,000 customers and sells its products through its website and various online marketplaces. Its technology is developed in collaboration with IIT Ropar and the Department of Biotechnology. The founders aim to establish Ubreathe as a leader in innovation and research, tackling the global issue of air pollution.

Click here to visit their official website: Ubreathe

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Shubham Singh, who is 28 years old, and Sanjay Maurya, who is 30, started a company called Ubreathe. Sanjay holds a bachelor’s degree in Technology from IIT Kanpur and gained experience working at another startup before launching Ubreathe. In contrast, Shubham is currently a student at a second-tier college in Ghaziabad.

Registered in 2018, Ubreathe generated ₹2.5 Lakhs in its first financial year, showing remarkable growth of 400% to reach ₹12.5 Lakhs by the end of FY19-20. The company’s revenue continued to climb, reaching ₹26.5 Lakhs in FY20-21 and ₹47 Lakhs in FY21-22. As of the pitch, sales for FY22-23 stood at ₹27 Lakhs, with a projection of reaching ₹50 Lakhs by year-end. The founders reported a monthly loss of around ₹3 Lakhs and have invested a total of ₹45 Lakhs of their own funds into the business. The pricing for their products includes ₹40,000 for the Ubreathe Light, ₹5,000 for the Ubreathe Mini, while the price for the wall model varies by size. They maintain a gross margin of 30%, but their earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) is -50% after all expenses. The founders are currently seeking an investment of ₹1.5 Crores for 7.5% equity, valuing the company at ₹20 Crores.

Anupam was the first shark to leave because he felt that the founders didn’t understand the overall situation of the business well enough. Vineeta also decided to leave because she thought the product wasn’t as effective as similar products from competitors. She pointed out that this made it hard for the business to make a profit, leading her to withdraw from the negotiations. Aman agreed with Vineeta’s concerns and believed the product wasn’t ready for the market, so he also chose to leave. Peyush suggested that the founders should look for a strategic investor who could help the business grow, but he personally decided not to invest in this specific company.

On the other hand, Namita saw potential in the product. She was interested in health and the environment, which led her to believe that this product could have a good position in those areas. Namita made an offer to invest ₹50 Lakhs (5 million rupees) for a 5% ownership in the company, and she offered to give the rest of her investment as debt (money the company would need to pay back) for a 10% ownership stake. The entrepreneurs thought about it and countered her offer by asking for ₹50 Lakhs for 4% ownership instead, but Namita said her offer was non-negotiable.

After some discussion among themselves, the entrepreneurs agreed to Namita’s original offer of ₹50 Lakhs for 5% ownership and the rest as debt, leading to a total company valuation of ₹10 crores (100 million rupees).

Our investigation into the company showed that their deal with Namita on Shark Tank India did not go through after the show aired. The founders later confirmed this in a discussion with Startup Pedia. Sanjay pointed out that there are significant uncertainties with commitments made on the show, the biggest being that there’s no clear timeline for how long the process will take to finalize. He mentioned that the sharks sometimes take up to ten months without providing any updates, which contributed to their deal falling apart.