The latest episode of Shark Tank India's fifth season kicked off with an innovative pitch from a Mumbai-based husband-wife duo, setting the stage for intense negotiations and even a clash between the investors. Varun Duggirala and Pooja Jauhar entered the tank promoting their children's brand, Emomee, which focuses on educational and emotional intelligence toys.
The Emomee Pitch: A Creative Powerhouse's New Venture
Varun and Pooja began their presentation with a catchy song, immediately grabbing the Sharks' attention. They introduced Emomee as a micro-story universe that releases new content daily on its YouTube channel. The founders leveraged their extensive background in India's creative and advertising ecosystem, having co-founded a successful digital agency and crafted influential stories for major consumer brands.
They entered the Tank seeking Rs 1 crore for a 2% equity stake, valuing their company at Rs 50 crores. Their business is built on a unique 3S model—Screen, Stage, and Shop. The strategy involves first capturing attention through digital content like daily YouTube videos, followed by live experiences and plays, and finally selling physical toys within those environments.
Pooja Jauhar shared that their vision is to build a brand akin to Walt Disney, where the experience leads to product sales. They revealed impressive growth, having scaled their YouTube channel from 1,000 to 1 million subscribers between April and August 2025 by consistently uploading one video per day.
The Shark Bidding War and Clash
The pitch resonated strongly with the Sharks. Aman Gupta was so impressed he immediately stood up to hug the founders, revealing that their agency had previously designed the creative program for his own brand. Namita Thapar was the first to make an offer, proposing Rs 1 crore for 2% equity. Aman Gupta, Mohit Yadav, and Kunal Bahl quickly followed with identical offers.
However, Anupam Mittal presented a different perspective. While praising their creativity, he suggested they were still "dabbling" and needed help scaling an intellectual property (IP). He made a bold offer of Rs 2 crore for a 5% stake, at a valuation of Rs 40 crores, emphasizing his desire to work closely with them due to his experience in building digital products.
This triggered a competitive and heated discussion. Aman Gupta argued that "content is king, but distribution is God," promising to handle distribution alongside Pooja. Anupam Mittal countered, claiming superior expertise in digital distribution within India. The debate turned personal, with Aman questioning the closure of some of Anupam's companies, and Anupam retorting about job security. Namita Thapar had to intervene, joking that a fight had broken out, and even suggested a joint offer from all Sharks, which Aman refused due to his disagreement with Anupam.
The Final Deal and Outcome
After a deliberation period, Varun and Pooja returned with a counter-offer. They proposed Rs 2 crores for 4% equity, effectively sticking to their desired Rs 50 crore valuation. This deal was accepted by Aman Gupta and Namita Thapar, who partnered to secure the investment.
The episode highlighted the power of a strong creative foundation and a clear, scalable vision in the competitive kids' entertainment space. Emomee's strategy of using data, AI, and digital platforms to achieve global reach without massive traditional launches proved compelling enough to trigger a rare multi-Shark partnership, despite the on-set tensions.
