Exclusive-Shark Tank India 2 pitcher Parul Gulati on trolls: It did irk me a little, but at the end of the day I took the Rs 1 cr cheque home they didn't

Shark Tank India 2's finale episode had an interesting and entertaining pitch with actress Parul Gulati and her hair brand. In an exclusive conversation with ETimes TV, Parul got candid about her brand, her pitch and everything that happened in Shark Tank India.

I was very nervous, I have never pitched my business before. I can call it the top 3 moments of my life, what I felt inside that tank. It has been amazing, I can't explain it in words. I haven't experienced something like this before and after that reaction, it was something else.

Also, they are saying that it is scripted. Of course the first three lines of my pitch I wrote them. You can't just say anything randomly in your pitch so 'baal jhadkana' and all I sat with my friend and wrote. What would happen if they believed that a girl could be witty and pretty? Just because I can give hazir jawaab then it is wrong? Why do they think I would have written it? People also thought I was confident, actually, I was quite nervous when I started the pitch. It did irk me a little with the reaction I received. I thought, at the end of the day I took that Rs 1 cr cheque home they didn't.

People will say that I don't deserve it because I am an actor. But I have started from scratch. I have worked very hard to build what I have. I started from a living room where the capital amount was just Rs 5000. If I cannot go then I don't know what else could be a good pitch.

I have been saying this since the beginning. I am married to my acting career and my brand is my child. Also, I believe women are great at doing two or three things at once. Since our childhood, we are taught how to learn to cook and manage our home while studying. So we are raised to multi-task and ask a woman if we can be a wife and mother both then why can't I act and have my business too?

It all started with this one idea when I had actually cut my hair very short and I needed extensions at that point. I always loved hair extensions, but the one I had wasn't going with my hair. So I reached out to the production house to pay for the extension as I was supposed to play the housewife character for the ad and they wanted long hair. But they refused to pay for it, so I thought one day I will have my own company. Then I searched online, and when you go out to buy from the wig vendors those extensions were for Rs 40,000 to 45,000. It is very expensive for a struggling actor. These extensions were for actresses, I didn't think I would make it for myself. When I started making, aunties would come to me and listen to the customers I started making different products and my brand happened.

I would do a lot of lil' flea markets, I would do a lot of exhibitions and put out these products. At that time, I used to make only 3 products. Bangs, long length and for volume and colour strands. At that time, these aunties used to come, they used to be a little uncomfortable sharing but would say, 'beta mere liye kuch bana do'. So I started experimenting and I made my first faux scalp. That changed everything, and then in that, I started experimenting with how to make the scalp look more real. I learnt about the silk base and got into the technicalities, learnt while listening to my customers.

She looked so cute, she says that to a lot of people. 'For that reason, I am out', it is classic Namita and somewhere deep down I knew hair wouldn't be her expertise and for that reason, she will be out. So I requested her to say the dialogue when she denied the offer. It was a fun thing, little did I know it would turn into a meme.

I said it in my pitch, I really wanted them both. I did say, 'Does that offer sail your boat or should I sugarcoat it more.' I really went for those two but it came down to who can give me more time, Amit sir said, he can give me more time and he has proved it and he has been giving me his time ever since we parted from Shark Tank together. The payment gateway that I use for my orders crashed and currently, RBI has not been onboarding new accounts so they let me use their payment gateway. They helped me even before the episode aired and the funding came in.

There are no two ways for me, both matter the most. Whatever needs my attention more I do that first. Both my acting and my brand are equally important to me. I just hope that I reach out to more women with my product.

Put your thoughts into action and don't wait for it. Had I waited to start a company after becoming a successful actor then I wouldn't have been where I am right now. I also make a lot of mistakes but all I would like to say is that don't give up on your dreams.

There have been times when I would feel stuck. I think it is a part of every business and career. I have felt that even in my acting career, in those times yes you lose your mind. With my business, I did have that moment when I was shifting my hosting website and the payment gateway just would not work and my international orders stopped coming, which I had on a daily basis. It happened recently and I was stuck, but I worked through it.

I would have loved to get an offer from him. Anupam is somebody I really respect and I really like the way he built his business. But he had invested in a competitor brand so he couldn't. I have got the best Shark, Amit Jain is really amazing, and the way he works is impeccable. He has really helped me a lot with his business ideas. He is the coolest man ever.

I went there as a contestant and even if you had to go use the washroom the crew would see if the Sharks weren't around. Being a reality show, they made sure the contestants or Sharks didn't get to see each other for its exclusivity. If I get to meet then I would really want to meet Vineeta as she was extremely supportive during my pitch. She even mentioned using extensions so yes.