When Abu Zoheib Jilani and Shrijal Dave went on the shark reservoir with women like you, their startup based in Bengaluru was not only launching clothes – this undoubted a standard. Built around the idea that the diversified body types of Indian women deserve better representation in fashion, their brand has promised more than holiday clothes that adapt. But as their RS 1 crore height for 2% of equity took place, which started as an admiration quickly moved to a heated debate – not on profits, but on the goal, the language and even the Name itself.
Women like U have stood out with its promise: an approach supported by technology where customers could identify their body type through simple questions and find organized adjustments to conceptions only for them. The concept resonated with the Sharks – Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal, Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal and Varun Dua – who admired the quality of the products and the commercial potential. But admiration did not mean an easy deal.
Vineeta Singh revealed that she was already a customer, renting the brand’s design and equipment. However, she did not hold back with regard to comments. “I hate the brand name and the logo and spelling,” she said without you, calling women like you “with cheap” and unfit for an ambitious luxury brand.
Anupam Mittal directed the conversation more deeply, questioning the very language that the brand used to classify body types. “Using the same lexicon as in the form of a pear, oval, heart-shaped, etc … Are you not always objective of women? If you really want to be anti-discriminatory, you must use a different language” , he explained. Vineeta accepted, stressing that if the brand was aimed at breaking the stereotypes, its terminology has inadvertently strengthened them.
Despite these criticism, not all sharks share the same point of view. Aman Gupta and Anupam Mittal defended the brand, arguing that names and logos are subjective. They appreciated the simplicity of the brand and thought it resounded with the target audience.
Regarding the offers, Vineeta proposed RS 1 crosses for 3% equity with an additional fee of 2% until Rs 1.5 crore is recovered – on a condition: “Change the brand name and the logo “. Aman a countered with a similar offer, although its royalty ceiling is from Rs 1 crore and came without the request for rebranding.
Jilani and Dave stood firm. They refused Vineeta’s offer, not wanting to separate from the name near their hearts and accepted the Aman’s agreement instead. While they rejected with their intact pride, Vineeta pointed out: “For a lifestyle, the name is everything. Sugar, boat … The names mean everything. The founders are so rigid.”
The founders remained unattained, however. “We have received extremely positive answers. The name is close to our hearts, and of course, we have taken a lot of data before arriving on this name. We understand that there are people who might feel similar to Vineeta, but the brand received mainly positive answers, “they said, confident in their choice and the future of their brand.
