Entrepreneurs Piyush Suri and Neetica Pande, the founders of Nooe, a luxury lifestyle accessories brand, recently opened up about their transformative experience on Shark Tank India Season 4. Despite facing intense scrutiny and tough feedback from the sharks, they secured a deal that Piyush called “life-changing.”
When asked why they chose to build Nooe, Piyush shared, “I truly believe one should start by thinking like a consumer. With 15 years of experience in design and product development, combined with Neetica’s expertise in creating exceptional products, it felt natural for us to merge our skills and passions into a brand. We aimed to create a design-driven premium luxury brand.”
The idea for Nooe emerged during the pandemic, as the demand for high-quality desk accessories surged. However, the founders were clear from the outset that they didn’t want to be confined to just desk products. “I’m passionate about productivity and growth, and we wanted to design around that concept. We’ve crafted a brand that reflects both our personalities,” Piyush explained.
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Neetica highlighted a gap in India’s luxury market, saying, “I was in Copenhagen, and Piyush was in New York, where people lead a lifestyle that demands high-value goods that last a lifetime. They prioritize sustainability and minimalism. We realized that India has a growing demand for these products, but there was nothing in the market to fulfill that need. That’s when we decided to fill this gap with Nooe.”
Piyush Suri and Neetica Pande also expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of their Shark Tank episode, stating, “The experience as founders, along with the immense publicity from the episode, has been invaluable. With millions of impressions, Nooe is now associated with global design and luxury, with us as its proud faces. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we couldn’t have asked for a better result.”
During their pitch, Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal said India wasn’t ready for Nooe, but Piyush disagreed, highlighting the growing luxury market in India. He pointed out that affluent Indians, including Bollywood stars and industrialists, were already aware of Nooe before Shark Tank, emphasizing the significant demand in the category with no competition.
Piyush shared, “We are an outlier brand, surprising people with our luxury offerings from India. The quality and price points we bring are unexpected, even leading some sharks to question how our products could be sold at Harrods, London. It’s hard for people to judge our unique model, especially within the short time frame of the tank. While they may be quick to assess brands targeting the Indian market, they have limited insight into our niche. We believe that with more time, we could have provided them with a deeper understanding of what we do.”
Despite a strong offer from boAt’s Aman Gupta, the founders chose to strike a deal with Peyush Bansal of Lenskart after a tense negotiation. Piyush explained that giving up a controlling stake was a difficult and pressure-filled decision. The quick timeline made it hard to fully consider such a major choice, but ultimately, Peyush’s vision for building global brands aligned better with their goals. They prioritized partnering with the right person and valued Peyush’s approach to relationships and partnerships.
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