Feels really sad to see this, but wasn’t left with a choice either!
It has been 50 days of zero D2C business and all we get to hear is *“We won’t do anything”*
We recently aired on Shark Tank S3- on the 15th of March which was a dream come true, but what followed has turned into a nightmare. Despite our joy at being featured on national television, our happiness was short-lived.
Sony Entertainment Television has unjustly targeted us for trademark violations without any prior notice. They have striked our social media posts containing clips from the shark tank episode and have gone ahead and *blocked our Ad account, unpublished our Facebook page, disabled the collaboration feature on our brands account as well as on my personal account.*
1. No prior notice / warning was sent to us
2. Ideally we have aired in the episode, which we could use for marketing purposes for 3 months from the said date (as per their guidelines)
3. Our content was pulled down within 25 days, after which we ceased to run all shark tank clips on organic as well as paid posts
4. We have been writing to both Meta and Sony daily since, to help us with a solution, but haven’t received any resolution.
5. We don’t want to use any clips for marketing and just want our original accounts back
All we want is someone from the SONY Team to talk to us and help solve this amicably but sadly not a single party (sony legal or shark tank) chose to reply. Not only me but more 70+ brands are facing these challenges.
While we were shown a bigger picture of getting upto 5X & 7X of growth, the Shark Tank experience has infact got us huge loss in business and a downfall of almost 10-12X.
As the founder of Fit and Flex, I've poured my heart and soul into building our brand from the ground up, and this is extremely disheartening to see that massive media houses are harassing startup brands.
*Fellow startup founders, please share your thoughts on this, what do you feel?*
It has been 50 days of zero D2C business and all we get to hear is *“We won’t do anything”*
We recently aired on Shark Tank S3- on the 15th of March which was a dream come true, but what followed has turned into a nightmare. Despite our joy at being featured on national television, our happiness was short-lived.
Sony Entertainment Television has unjustly targeted us for trademark violations without any prior notice. They have striked our social media posts containing clips from the shark tank episode and have gone ahead and *blocked our Ad account, unpublished our Facebook page, disabled the collaboration feature on our brands account as well as on my personal account.*
1. No prior notice / warning was sent to us
2. Ideally we have aired in the episode, which we could use for marketing purposes for 3 months from the said date (as per their guidelines)
3. Our content was pulled down within 25 days, after which we ceased to run all shark tank clips on organic as well as paid posts
4. We have been writing to both Meta and Sony daily since, to help us with a solution, but haven’t received any resolution.
5. We don’t want to use any clips for marketing and just want our original accounts back
All we want is someone from the SONY Team to talk to us and help solve this amicably but sadly not a single party (sony legal or shark tank) chose to reply. Not only me but more 70+ brands are facing these challenges.
While we were shown a bigger picture of getting upto 5X & 7X of growth, the Shark Tank experience has infact got us huge loss in business and a downfall of almost 10-12X.
As the founder of Fit and Flex, I've poured my heart and soul into building our brand from the ground up, and this is extremely disheartening to see that massive media houses are harassing startup brands.
*Fellow startup founders, please share your thoughts on this, what do you feel?*
The eChai Effect - In Their Words
“When we launched LegalWiz.in back in 2016, concept of procuring legal and compliance services through a digital commerce platform wasn't as prominent in India. eChai played a significant role in providing the early adopters, and building significant positioning in the startup fraternity. Overtime, eChai grew to be a massive network of like-minded entrepreneurs and extended that benefit to all the members in a true "co-rise" spirit. I personally love to attend eChai events, learn from subject matter experts who share relatable and actionable insights and experiences. For startup journeys, it is so important to be surrounded by people who can add relevance, perspective, and push you to do better. Most importantly a group of people where you aren't being judged about things going right or wrong, but be a motivational force that keeps you going, yet keeping you in check. eChai is that place for me!”
Shrijay Sheth
Founder at LegalWiz.in and Hire4Higher Consulting
"We found eChai to be a force multiplier throughout our startup journey. Through it, we connected with folks from DevX, Allevents, Plutomen, and more - many of whom became friends of IndiaBizForSale.com and even part of our clientele."
Bhavin S Bhagat
Co-founder of Indiabizforsale and IBGrid, TiE Ahmedabad President
"The eChai platform has been super valuable for me - it has helped me gain a deeper understanding of domains in the startup and tech ecosystem. What stands out most is the celebration of knowledge, professional growth, and entrepreneurship - it’s one of the best for the Indian ecosystem. Along the way, I’ve also been fortunate to make some great friendships and connections too."
Shalin (Shawn) Parikh
Founder, MyCPE One
eChai Partner Brands
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.
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Cloud Telephony
Virtual phone system enhancing productivity, automating workflows, and reducing costs.