Jeevika Tyagi, co-founder and CEO of athleisure (athletic and leisure wear combined) startup Aastey, has hit out at Shark Tank India judge Namita Thapar over her comments about the startup’s spending on marketing. Namita is chief executive officer (CEO) of Emcure Pharmaceuticals.
Jeevika has posted a video on Instagram, that includes a footage of the episode called “Celebrating Entrepreneurial Breakthroughs”, in which Namita is saying “I’m out” because Jeevika’s startup Aastey took ₹10 crore from investors and spent the entire amount primarily on marketing.
Reacting to Namita’s comments, in the video post Jeevika alleges that Sony on which Shark Tank is broadcasted has edited some part of the episode themed “Is this financial indiscipline”. Jeevika claims the edited part of the episode was about startup’s spendings on inventory, business operations, and manpower cost.
“Jeevika Tyagi & Kanupriya Mundhra are enthusiastic to make #Aastey a ₹100-CR brand!” says the Instagram post.
Aastey is a women’s athleisure brand which positions itself as an “inclusive” apparel maker offering athleisure clothing for varied body types.
Aastey was conceptualized during the lockdown in 2020 with founders, Jeevika Tyagi and Kanupriya Mundhra who spent over a year researching and developing products and shipping them to India at accessible price points. Its product range include sports bra and leggings offered in 16 different sizes.
According to an earlier report published by Livemint in February 2022, the startup had raised ₹10 crore in seed funding from CXXO, a Kalaari Capital initiative.
Aastey had said that the funding will help the brand build its supply chain while setting the foundation for marketing.
“India is crowded with athleisure brands with no one focusing on the sustainability aspect. The country has a strong ecosystem for homegrown direct-to-consumer brands and there is a huge demand for high-quality athleisure wear in our country. We even pay a premium to ship global brands to the country, because of a lack of domestic supply,” Jeevika Tyagi had said.
According to its website, Aastey’s “mission is to eliminate all existing biases & stereotypes for women while maintaining a positive impact on the environment.”
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Published: 25 Feb 2024, 08:55 PM IST