Shark Tank India pitchers tell Ritesh Agarwal they started out in ‘kharab sa’ OYO basement, took over entire guest house

On the most recent Shark Tank India show, two founders made a pitch for their coworking space. The idea for Alt F Coworking was sparked by founders Yogesh and Sarthak, who claimed that they had trouble obtaining workspace when they wanted to take breaks from their employment. They said that their first workplace was in a basement of an OYO building, which surprised Ritesh Agarwal. The founders said, “Wahan kharab sa table tha.” As it happened, Peyush Bansal was also acquainted with them and had previously benefited from their services. The founders valued their company at an astounding Rs 133 crore and requested Rs 1 crore in finance in exchange for 75% equity.

Click here to visit their official website: alt.f coworking

Related: Str8bat on Shark Tank India: “Are You Here for a Deal or Marketing?” Shark Aman Gupta Asks Str8bat’s Founder

Alt.f Coworking is a leading coworking space provider in the Delhi NCR. We are the epitome of modern working, where professionalism meets comfort. The work atmosphere is suitable for startup owners, especially the bootstrapped ones, as you get an office space at minimum pricing. 

The mission of this startup is to revolutionize local startups with an international-level, pocket-friendly workspace, fostering growth and establishing businesses with global standards & the vision is to  swiftly expand across India in the next 5 years, offering immediate access to premium and affordable workspaces and positioning ourselves as the unequivocal choice for entrepreneurs and SMEs

• Sarthak Chhabra-Sarthak Chhabra is a driven entrepreneur with a fervor for new-age start-ups. His inquisitiveness and passion for learning came in handy while co-founding AltF CoWorking. Under his leadership, the company was incorporated, recruitment and marketing channels were stabilized, and legal and financial compliance was systemized

• Yogesh Arora- Yogesh Arora is a transformation expert with a passion for scaling high-growth businesses across various market segments. Being a transformation expert, he is majorly concerned with our business strategies. He aims to expand channels to help budding entrepreneurs achieve their respective goals.

After negotiating a lease with the OYO owner, Yogesh and Sarthak informed the panel of “sharks” that they were soon making more money from the basement than from the guest house’s rooms combined. The OYO quickly became an Alt F after they turned each bedroom in the building into a coworking space. They said that only from the basement, they were making Rs 3 lakh. They now anticipate making Rs 50 crore this year after operating for almost ten years. They claimed to have agreements in place for a further Rs 30 crore, bringing their total earnings to Rs 80 crore.

Although Namita Thapar was unsure of the demand for coworking spaces in tier two and tier three cities, the founders informed the “sharks” that they intended to move into these areas next. Citing these grounds, she withdrew from the agreement. Aman Gupta, however, believed that they were doing well on their own and didn’t require a “shark” at all. According to Anupam Mittal, they are currently only making about Rs 5 crore in earnings annually, therefore he cannot defend the Rs 133 crore valuation. He also pulled out of the agreement.

Ritesh claimed that he was unable to take part in the transaction due to this conflict of interest because he had previously invested in a coworking space. Ritesh was discreetly taking notes and will soon be entering the room himself, Aman joked. Aman replied, “Itna chup yeh kabhi nahi rahe hain,” which made Ritesh flush. However, Peyush Bansal offered the founders Rs 1 crore in exchange for 2%. Although Anupam asserted that there is no justice in Shark Tank, Namita thought this was unjust. The founders left without a transaction after politely declining Peyush’s offer.

All of the sharks—Namita Thapar, Aman Gupta, Peyush Bansal, Anupam Mittal, and Ritesh Agarwal—were featured in an interesting episode of Shark Tank India: Season 4. Although they were unable to close a purchase, they were given helpful advice on how to expand their business, including coworking. Everyone is now excitedly anticipating the next episode, hoping to learn more about the judges’ approaches to fund-raising and more fascinating firms.