Aman Gupta Warns Dating Startup On Shark Tank India, Refuses To Invest: ‘Just One Kaand Away…’

An offline dating startup walked into the tank hoping to change how young India meets — but walked out with a serious reality check.

On a recent episode of Shark Tank India Season 5, founders Tanay Baweja and Aastha Sethi pitched Offline by Happy Hour, a platform that organises curated, in-person dating and social events. Their idea was simple: move young people away from swipe culture and bring them into real-world meetups based on personality and preferences.

They asked for ₹50 lakh for 5% equity, valuing the company at ₹10 crore.

While the concept grabbed attention, it quickly raised red flags.

‘You are just one kaand away’

Aman Gupta, CEO of boAt, compared the platform to a real-life version of the 2011 rom-com Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. But

he did not stop there. He warned the founders, “You are just one kaand (incident) away from shutting the business.”

The concern was clear — safety.

Shaily Mehrotra, founder and CEO of Fixderma, also questioned the safety systems at these offline events. When she asked if they hired bouncers, the founders admitted security was arranged only for large gatherings.

Shaily pointed out that offline dating spaces in India come with higher risks and need strong safeguards, especially when some users do not take dating platforms seriously.

Why Shaily won’t invest in dating apps

Earlier this year, Shaily had already shared her stance on dating startups in a Reel on Instagram. She wrote, “Not dismissing the idea but in India, nearly 2 in 3 users on dating apps never meet their matches offline, 77% report fake profiles, and 39% have encountered scams. Real world safety, location, and trust concerns make offline dating a high risk space. With strong identity verification, safety protocols, and engagement measures in place, this concept could be viable but these challenges must be addressed first.”

She further said in the video, “To be honest, I will not invest in any dating app start-up. Anything can happen. Because even today, our Indian youth, especially boys, don’t have the maturity for it. They don’t take dating apps seriously. To them, it’s fun. I don’t want to say more. There will be those 15% men who are actually sincere, but who will handle the rest?”

In the end, the sharks chose not to invest.