The latest season of Shark Tank India Season 5 has a new face on the panel that is quickly becoming a fan favourite. Mohit Yadav, the co-founder of the skincare brand Minimalist, has joined the line-up of “Sharks” for Season 5. While viewers are busy comparing his sharp style to Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal or calling him “pookie” in the comments, the real story lies in the massive risks he took to get to that chair.
Mohit isn’t just another successful entrepreneur; he is a man who literally bet his family’s roof on his vision. Today, his brand is valued at a staggering Rs 2,955 crore, but just a few years ago, he was a founder facing a wall of rejections from every investor he pitched to.
The Rs 1 crore gamble
Every entrepreneur talks about “taking risks,” but Mohit Yadav took it to the extreme. During his first appearance on the show, he shared a deeply personal story about the birth of Minimalist. When he and his brother, Rahul Yadav, decided to launch the brand, they didn’t have the backing of big venture capital firms. In fact, most people didn’t believe in their idea at all.
To get the business off the ground, Mohit made the most risky decision to mortgage his house for Rs 1 crore.
This wasn’t a calculated corporate move; it was a desperate gamble. “It was a tough time, knowing that your family had put in a lot of faith and trust in you,” Mohit said in an interview with SCREEN. “If things didn’t work out, we were putting everyone’s life at risk. But at the end of the day, you need to back yourself,” he further told SCREEN.
He admitted that the chances of a startup succeeding are often less than 10 per cent, but he chose to believe in himself rather than live with the regret of “what if.” If it had failed, his plan was simple but grueling: go back to a regular job, earn the money, and pay off the debt. Fortunately, he never had to do that.
The sting of rejection
Before the big success, there was a long season of “No.” In 2021, when Mohit and Rahul were trying to raise funds, the investment community was cold. The beauty market in India was dominated by brands selling “natural” and “ayurvedic” promises. Minimalist was doing the opposite, they were selling science, transparency, and chemical compounds.
Investors were baffled. Mohit recalls that many couldn’t even pronounce the names of the ingredients on his labels. They told him that the average Indian consumer wouldn’t understand the science and that the business would never scale.
“Every founder goes through their set of rejections and then proves themselves,” Mohit told SCREEN. “Everything is an exception until it becomes a norm.” He stayed the course, believing that if the product worked, the customers would come and they did.
The 2,955x return
The ultimate validation came in 2025. After building Minimalist into a powerhouse that grew from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore in annual revenue in just a few short years, the global giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) came knocking.
Mohit and Rahul eventually sold a 90 per cent stake in the company at a valuation of Rs 2,955 crore (roughly $350 million). For a man who had to borrow Rs 1 crore against his own home to start the fire, this was a legendary exit. He didn’t just earn his house back; he earned back his initial investment nearly 3,000 times over.
Learning from the ‘lows’
Mohit’s success didn’t come from his first try. His entrepreneurial journey actually began way back in 2010 with an apparel startup called Scopial Fashion. That venture didn’t take off, and neither did his next attempt.
He credits these “failures” with giving him the maturity he needed for Minimalist. In his younger days, Mohit admits he took business failures personally, feeling like he was a failure as a human being if his company didn’t work. By the time he started Minimalist, he had learned to separate his ego from his business. He became humble enough to admit mistakes and brave enough to change direction when needed.
He reveals that Shark Tank itself was a source of light during his darkest days. He grew up watching the US version of the show when he was struggling with his first startups. Watching other founders hustle and navigate their own “lows” gave him the motivation to keep going when his own bank account was empty.
A new chapter in the Tank
Now, Mohit sits on the other side of the table. Joining the panel with veterans like Anupam Mittal, Namita Thapar, and Aman Gupta, he brings a fresh, calm perspective to the show.
He admits that having a long-time friend like Kunal Bahl on the panel helped him settle in. The advice he received from the veteran Sharks was simple: don’t try to be anyone else. “Being authentic is the best way to take it forward,” they told him.
On his first day of filming, Mohit found himself getting emotional when meeting new founders who reminded him of his younger self. He isn’t looking at the show as just a way to spend money; he’s looking for people who have “skin in the game.”
“There is no mandate on the money or limit of investments,” he explained. “For me, if I like a venture and the growth is mutual, money is secondary. I’m taking one pitch at a time.”
The “Pookie” of the Tank
The internet’s reaction to Mohit has been overwhelmingly positive. Many fans appreciate his quiet confidence and the fact that he doesn’t feel the need to shout to make a point. The comparison to Deepinder Goyal, another founder known for his directness and focus on “clean” business is something Mohit takes as a huge compliment.
“I am humbled to know that people are comparing me with some good names,” he told SCREEN. “Every individual is different. I am glad people like me.”
From a college grad making mistakes in the apparel business to a skincare mogul who risked everything and won, Mohit Yadav’s story is a reminder that sometimes, the biggest risks lead to the biggest rewards.