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our social media posts containing clips from the shark tank episode and have gone ahead and *blocked our Ad account, unpublished our Facebook page, disabled the collaboration feature on our brands account as well as on my personal account.*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
"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
“I have no hesitation in saying that my association with eChai has been a gateway into the startup ecosystem. Through this platform, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with many young and dynamic entrepreneurs. These interactions have been immensely enriching - I’ve learned a great deal and have always tried to offer guidance whenever approached. It’s a truly symbiotic relationship that I deeply value, and it wouldn’t have been possible without eChai.”
Syed Nadeem Jafri
Founder, Hearty Mart
"eChai is playing biggest role in my personal and professional life together. Its a community where i meet like minded people to share idea and learn from their idea. Even while playing cricket i learn something and i implement something new from that learning. Its my entry point for building network in different countries where my base is not established yet. Personally my only fun activity day in a week is eChai cricket and social."
yash shah
Chairman, ES Group of Companies
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.
