Heart Up My Sleeves

Riya Khattar was a corporate HR professional who found herself staring at a closet full of clothes yet feeling she had nothing to wear. This relatable frustration led to a powerful idea — what if one could refresh an outfit without buying something entirely new? Riya Khattar is a young professional who was always passionate about fashion and styling. During the pandemic, when people took to various hobbies, Riya decided to build a startup around hers. While cleaning the closet, she stumbled upon the idea — a modern concept fit for transforming India, where every girl has the problem of not having enough clothes to wear or can't wear the same outfit twice.

Heart Up My Sleeves is a unique brand that aims at minimalism and sustainability using detachable statement sleeves. A modern concept fit for transforming India, the brand was started in the midst of the pandemic — literally while cleaning the closet. The core problem the brand solves is deeply relatable to every Indian woman: the feeling that despite a full wardrobe, there is "nothing to wear." Rather than encouraging more purchases, Heart Up My Sleeves offers a smarter, more sustainable solution — a single add-on accessory that can transform the appearance of any outfit, creating a completely new look without replacing anything.

Riya pitched her brand seeking ₹25 lakhs for 10% equity.

With poise and clarity, Riya pitched her brand, seeking ₹25 lakhs for 10% equity. Business Remedies As the third and final pitcher of Episode 1, Riya walked in as the youngest entrepreneur of the evening — reportedly 23 years old at the time — and brought with her a product that was completely unlike anything else seen on Shark Tank India up to that point. The pitch benefited enormously from the physicality of the product. Unlike tech startups or service businesses that require explanation and imagination, detachable sleeves could be demonstrated immediately and tangibly. Riya showed the Sharks how the same base outfit could be transformed into multiple distinct looks simply by swapping or adding a pair of sleeves — making the product's value proposition self-evident.

The Sharks' panel for this episode comprised Vineeta Singh, Ashneer Grover, Namita Thapar, Anupam Mittal, and Aman Gupta. The reactions were mixed — with three Sharks exiting relatively quickly and two leaning in with genuine enthusiasm. Ashneer Grover stepped out first among those who declined. Ashneer stepped out by explaining that he viewed it as a fashion business rather than an investable business — a characteristically blunt Ashneer verdict. His concern was that the product category, while charming, lacked the kind of systemic, scalable infrastructure play he prefers to invest in. Namita Thapar and Aman Gupta also exited. Namita and Aman backed off by explaining their views about the product — the judges found less potential as she dealt only in sleeves, and suggested she needed to broaden her areas to be successful. The criticism of the narrow product portfolio — just sleeves — was a recurring theme from the Sharks who declined.

After some discussion, Anupam and Vineeta jointly offered Riya ₹25 lakhs for a 40% stake. Sharktankindiaclub This was a steep counter — implying a post-money valuation of just ₹62.5 lakhs, far below Riya's initial implied ask of ₹2.5 crore. The Sharks justified the dilutive offer by citing the early stage of the business, the narrow product range, and the inherent risks of the fashion market.

Final On-Air Deal₹25 lakhs for 30% equity