Shark Tank India judge Kunal Bahl reveals the most underrated quality that can make or break an entrepreneur

Co-founder of Titan Capital and Snapdeal, Kunal Bahl, will soon debut on Shark Tank India Season 4. Bahl's debut in Shark Tank's upcoming Season 4 was announced in early October 2024. The new season is estimated to be on air sometime next year.

In an exclusive interview with Mint, the Indian venture investor highlighted his take on the country's venture capital market, the key elements he looks out for in an entrepreneur, his motivation behind joining Shark Tank India, and key areas he looks out for as an investment.

Bahl has been an entrepreneur and an investor for over 15 years, starting his journey with his fellow co-founder Rohit Bansal of Snapdeal and now Titan Capital. 

What do you watch out for in an entrepreneur?

As a venture capital investor, Bahl shared the key attributes he looks for in a startup founder before making an investment. He focused on clarity of thought, which will ideally make or break an entrepreneur or a funding deal.

“I feel the clarity of thought is a very underrated attribute,” the venture investor said.

“I've often seen that the best founders tend to have an extreme amount of clarity and focus from the earliest days of the business. They're very clear about the problem, why they're solving it, how they're solving it, and what are the unanswered questions in their mind,” Bahl said, highlighting the fact that most seasoned startup investors don't like pitches which are all over the place where the company is in multiple businesses from the beginning. 

Investment Opportunities for Kunal Bahl

Talking about the business segments which he looks out for, Kunal Bahl mentioned the consumer marketplaces, e-commerce marketplaces, software, logistics, fintech, and consumer brands as prospective businesses where he would put in his money and experience, having prior knowledge of the same.

“Depth of understanding you have about a business, if you've attempted building it yourself, is much more than if you just academically read about it,” Bahl said.

“There is obviously some technology enablement element because that increases the scalability of the business, and then the business doesn't necessarily grow linearly. It can grow exponentially,” Bahl told Mint, focusing on his strategy of investing in a sector or a business segment with prior knowledge or insights. 

Motivation behind the Shark Tank debut?

The Shark Tank India judge shared his motivation for backing entrepreneurs and new-generation founders. He resonates with the show because it shares his philosophy of providing opportunity and support to the next generation of founders.

“Rohit and I felt at that point in time that if ever we get the opportunity to support the next generation of founders, entrepreneurs, we must do that with capital, with our knowledge, with our mistakes, with our experiences, with our network, etc.,” the venture investor sai.

The last 17 to 18 years have been about building businesses that create a platform for talented people to achieve their dreams, he said. 

Indian VC market outlook

Kunal Bahl said that India's venture capital market and startup ecosystem are heading towards an optimistic zone, and the broader outlook remains positive for the industry.

“So my outlook for venture capital is the same as my outlook for the startup ecosystem, which is the same as my outlook for India, right, which is extremely optimistic and positive,” he said. “Over the last 10 years, it has just changed dramatically because now there's so many role models taken for,” Bahl said.