Want to make an investor pitch to Ashneer Grover? Get ready to shell out Rs 1 lakh/ hour

Bharat Pe’s Co-founder and Managing Director Ashneer Grover is allegedly utilising his ‘Shark Tank India’ fame by charging Rs One lakh an hour from the early stage start-up founders who want him to invest in their businesses.

The money, however, is fully refundable if Grover decides to invest in the start-up.

A young start-up founder who reached out to Grover recently, asking for his time to make a business presentation, said that Grover directed him to meet his assistant to schedule a date and time for the meeting. The start-up founder said that when he reached out to Grover’s assistant (Sidharth alias Sonu), he was told that Grover will charge Rs 1 lakh in advance for his time and if he decides to invest in the start-up, the amount will be fully refundable.

The start-up founder told BestMediaInfo that he was surprised upon learning about the demand for money at this stage, as he had thought that Grover was serious about angel investing. “I never thought that even listening to business presentations was a full-fledged revenue stream for him,” the start-up founder said.

Grover did not respond to the queries sent by BestMediaInfo.com.

Grover’s also fighting a legal battle with the investors and board of Bharat Pe, it must be noted that his popularity has skyrocketed after his appearance on Sony’s ‘Shark Tank India’ series.

According to a Press Trust of India report, BharatPe has sacked Madhuri Jain Grover, Ashneer Grover’s wife, over alleged financial irregularities and cancelled employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) vested with her.

“Ms Madhuri is alleged to have used company funds for personal beauty treatments, buying electronic items and family trips to the US and Dubai, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Besides, she also allegedly paid her personal staff out of company accounts and produced fake invoices from known or friendly parties, the sources said,” the PTI report said quoting sources.

“Her husband was sent on a three-month leave following allegations of using abusive language against Kotak Mahindra Bank staff and fraudulent practices. He has denied all allegations,” the report added.

Grover has also filed an emergency plea before the SIAC seeking to quash the company’s investigation into an alleged financial fraud and mishandling of company funds.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com