[Exclusive Interview With Founder] This Smart Helmet Startup Raised Rs 1 Crore Funding From Shark Tanks | Mission & Vision?

Recently we interacted with Pulkit Ahuja, founder, and CEO at Proxgy. They successfully raised Rs 1 crore from Shark Tanks, and they have a very inspiring story to tell!

Here are the highlights of the interview..

What was your experience like in Shark Tank India?

Well, the entire journey was an enriching and a learning experience. Right from the initial application to the final pitch in the tank, the pressure of making it and getting a deal kept piling up. But when you go through each phase and meet fellow entrepreneurs sailing the same boat there is a lot to learn throughout the journey.

The application process had 5 rounds. The first round was a written form filling round wherein the very basic details of the idea were asked. There were around 60,000 companies that had applied in the 1^st round.

The shortlisted companies of the first round made way to the second round. This took around 2 months’ time. In the second round we were asked the granular details of the business model along with the key metrics, IPR etc. 

After around a month’s time, shortlisted companies of the second round were informed and we were asked to make a 3 minute video shot by company’s founders detailing the business, showcasing the product and including the elevator pitch. This round was basically to test the screen presence, confidence and communication skills. 

After almost 2 months the shortlists of 4^th round were announced wherein we were required to go and do a demo pitch to the Shark Tank VC team at the Welcome Hotel, Dwarka. The demo pitch was being recorded and lasted for almost an hour.

From the initial 60,000 companies, only 198 companies were shortlisted for the final 5^th round which took place in Goregaon Film City, Mumbai. 

These 198 companies got to present their startups in front of the Sharks and out of which 67 companies got funded. Proxgy was one of the highest funded companies of these 67 companies.

Proxgy, its USPs, and how it is assisting Indian brands in achieving their goals?

In the past few years, we have seen ecommerce grow in India, and shoppers now demand augmented content for making informed shopping decision. Visual commerce enables user to have near life immersive experience using 360° Videos/photos, 3D images and more. Proxgy enables brands to provide immersive, real time, authentic and reliable shopping content to shoppers for making informed purchase decisions.

Proxgy provides technology that enables discovery, Live visits and payment through a single plug in. Retail Brands can use our platform and hardware devices, that can be easily plugged in to their existing ecom solutions to offer live visit to their offline stores. 

On the B2B front the solutions that we build are an amalgamation of proprietary tech and patented devices with customisable sensory layer that provide innovative solution to problems that were earlier solved manually without the assistance of technology. Like Remote collaboration, lone worker monitoring, pilferage detection

How has COVID affected Proxgy, since it started during COVID?

During the Covid lockdown there was a growing need for people to explore but with restriction on movement solution like virtual travel and commerce started coming up. It was during this time that Proxgy started as a dorm room service conceptualized for the elderly and other high risk prone individuals as a pilot in New Delhi during coronavirus citywide lockdown, wherein these people who were at a higher risk to transmission could stay safe at home while their younger, fitter proxgies navigated the city for them and performed their errands live using an off the shelf Whatsapp video call. The concept received such acceptance that the team started expanding its services across multiple cities and verticals. From using off the shelf technology and hardware, Proxgy developed proprietary tech and hardware to better the end user experience.

What expansion plans do you have over the next five years?

We want to be the leaders in Industrial IoT domain globally for which we will keep innovating and developing better solutions for problems faced by Industries. The funds majorly would be allocated to innovation and product deliveries.

Do you have any advice for aspiring Wannapreneurs?

Persistence is the key. As an wannapreneur you are bound to face a lot of rejections but the entrepreneurial way of life would require you to keep moving forward and stick to your goals even if no one else believes in them. Sooner or later, if you are persistent enough, you could get your fair chance to prove to the World that you were right and the struggles were worth it.