There are quite a few TV shows, YouTube and OTT Startup shows that are becoming popular. A newest entrant is the Snakes and Ladders Startup Show(c) from The Great Unicorn Hunt, India’s leading Startup Discovery and Networking portal with a community of over 3000 Unicorn Hunters, Spotters and Founders.
Most shows are aligned and created with a format where there are few but same panel of seasoned investors and sometimes a jury panel that could help the Founders secure investments. Such shows have also ended up creating a bit of disappointment among Founders that the curation, shortlisting, travel and preparation phase is pretty time consuming and that the number of Startups who get telecast or get funded is quite low.
Infact Founders are sometimes subjected to some very harsh, caustic and almost insulting comments which has become quite a bug bear with founders.
The Snakes & Ladders Startup Show(c) is different in many ways. Firstly it is not a show for Investment solicitation. It is a show that will help Founders become visible and showcase their Startup. Importantly its theme is around unearthing the Snakes, the pitfalls they faced and managed and the Ladders, the upsides, the lucky breaks they secured and leveraged. Secondly it is not a show where snarky and insulting comments will adorn the show to increase TRPs. Infact one of the promos of the show says, No Snarks, No Insulting Comments, Only Unicorn Hunters and Spotters.
The show has been created, conceptualized, directed and anchored by Sachin Karnik, The Founder and CEO of The Great Unicorn Hunt who brings his rich experience of being an Angel Investor, a President of a large Angel Investing Network, CEO of a British Crowd Investing company before embarking on building The Great Unicorn Hunt.
The format involves some incisive and peppy questions on Snakes and Ladders faced by the founders with each episode dedicated for each Startup to. The candid experiences around the pitfalls and upsides, snakes and ladders is making the show content stand out but the icing on the cake is where different Angels, Super Angels, VCs, GPs, LPs invited on the show share their perspectives, insight and wisdom about Snakes to be watched out for and ladders to look out for and climbed apart from the ones discussed and shared candidly by the founders.
The first couple of episodes of the show has Oldsold a refurbished Cellphone Startup and Homeoform, a Homeopathy based personal care D2C Startup. Alok Parmar, the Founder and COO of OldSold has regaled viewers with his candid and endearing style of sharing experiences. Bhupinder Singh and Dr. Jaswinder Kaur the Husband-Wife Cofounders of Homeform share their vulnerable moments and highs as they seek a toe hold in the crowded D2C space.
The esteemed Jury Members and Investors who have graced the inaugural show are Devang Mehta, a seasoned leader, Investor, Venture Advisor and Venture Partner with Anthill Ventures, Anil Kumar Siddu, a Super Angel and Gold Member and Selection Panel member with IPV and an anchor investor for Senior Experts and Second Innings Home and Vatsal Kanakia, CEO of 100X VC, perhaps one of the youngest CEO from the Investing Ecosystem.
In the currently filming third episode, Noah Mobility takes the spotlight. This global startup, rooted in Germany, specializes in facilitating the movement of both individuals and large multinational corporations, aiming for enhanced ease, efficiency, and seamlessness. Katrin Ruland, the Founder & CEO, and Damian Porter, the Leader for Global Partnerships, engage in a discussion exploring the Snakes and Ladders that a worldwide startup, spanning 23 countries, encounters, navigates, and ultimately faces, fights and conquers!
The episodes of the show feature on official YouTube Channel of The Great Unicorn Hunt (youtube.com/@thegreatunicornhunt) and the show makers invite Investors and Founders to nominate their Startups.