Decode Age

Parth Amin, Darshit Patel, and Rakesh Somani are Season 3's most scientifically diversified longevity founding trio. Darshit manages the scientific R&D and product formulation, bringing the clinical research credibility needed for a supplements company making health claims. Parth handles marketing and consumer engagement, translating complex longevity science into accessible consumer language. Rakesh oversees finance and operations, ensuring the business infrastructure supports the scientific mission. The company registered in August 2021 and launched its first product in November 2021, achieving ₹11 crore annual revenue run rate within 2 years. This rapid commercial validation in a category that did not exist in India before Decode Age created it communicates both genuine consumer demand for longevity solutions and the founders' ability to educate and convert a market that had never heard of NMN, Ca-AKG, or biological age testing.

Decode Age operates India's first comprehensive longevity ecosystem through its proprietary 3P approach: Prevent (supplements targeting age-related symptoms before they manifest), Predict (biological age testing and gut microbiome analysis to forecast health trajectories), and Personalise (tailored health protocols based on individual biological data to actively reverse biological aging). The company's Next-Generation Sequencing Lab provides India's first comprehensive Gut Microbiome analysis that identifies not only bacteria but also viruses, archaea, and fungi, a testing depth that no other Indian wellness company offers. This lab capability converts Decode Age from a supplement brand into a diagnostics-plus-therapeutics platform, the most commercially defensible model in the longevity category.

Amount Asked: ₹1 crore Equity Offered: 1.25% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹80 crore

The founders opened Season 3 Episode 14 by introducing the most conceptually counterintuitive health proposition of the season: your chronological age (number of years lived) and your biological age (how old your body actually is at the cellular level) are different numbers, and Decode Age's supplements and testing can make the second number significantly lower than the first. The 3P framework (Prevent, Predict, Personalise) gave the pitch clear structural organisation, converting the complex science of longevity into a three-step consumer journey. The BioAge test demonstration, showing how a home kit could measure a person's actual biological age, was the pitch's most tangibly demonstrable product moment.

Namita Thapar was the first to exit, citing no entry barrier in the longevity supplement industry and the lack of defensibility. Vineeta Singh exited due to lack of clarity on the company's strategic direction. She suggested the supplement business and the testing/diagnostics business should be treated as separate ventures rather than combined under one brand. Amit Jain could not understand the plan of action and felt the business model was too complex for the current commercial stage. Aman Gupta simply did not believe in the product's efficacy. His comment about the founders not looking young despite using their supplements captured his fundamental scepticism. Anupam Mittal was the only believer. He had met the founders previously and was convinced that the age longevity supplement market would "explode" in the near future.

Anupam offered ₹1 crore for 2.5% equity plus 1% royalty until ₹1.5 crore recouped. The founders countered at ₹1 crore for 1.75% equity with no royalty, arguing that the company was already burning money and adding royalty would compound the cash flow pressure. Anupam revised to ₹1 crore for 2.25% equity plus 1% royalty until ₹1.5 crore recouped. The founders accepted. The negotiation moved from Anupam's 2.5% opening through the founders' 1.75% counter (attempting to eliminate the royalty) to the final 2.25% plus royalty compromise. The founders successfully reduced equity from 2.5% to 2.25% but could not eliminate the royalty, which Anupam insisted on as downside protection for a company still burning ₹8 to 9 lakhs monthly.

Parth Amin, Darshit Patel, and Rakesh Somani accepted Anupam Mittal's offer of ₹1 crore for 2.25% equity plus 1% royalty until ₹1.5 crore is recouped, valuing Decode Age at ₹44.44 crore. However, the deal did not formally close after the pitch was shot. The company continues operating independently without Anupam's investment.

Our research on Decode Age revealed that despite their agreement on Shark Tank India, their deal with Anupam Mittal did not close after the pitch was shot. Decode Age continues as India's pioneer longevity company despite the deal not closing. The company's product portfolio has expanded significantly post-Shark Tank, with new supplements, advanced gut microbiome testing through their Next-Generation Sequencing Lab, and personalised longevity protocols based on individual biological data. The ₹11 crore annual revenue run rate at 70% gross margin demonstrates genuine commercial traction in a category that Decode Age single-handedly created in India. The 93% revenue concentration in supplements (versus 7% from tests) confirms that the consumer supplement business is the primary commercial driver, with the testing and diagnostics platform serving as a differentiation and personalisation layer.