ManeTain

Hinshra Manadad Habeeb and Yuba Mohammed Romin Aga are Season 2's most personally hair-journey-driven founders. Both grew up with curly hair in India a country where straight hair has historically been the beauty standard, where curly-haired individuals were consistently bullied, misunderstood, and steered toward straightening treatments that damaged their hair rather than products that celebrated their natural texture. Started in 2018 by Yuba and Hinshara, who met in a curly hair WhatsApp group, Manetain initially launched a range of hair accessories to establish a name in the curly hair community. Following this success, they expanded their offerings to include a hair care range consisting of two shampoos, a multi purpose conditioner and India's first co-wash.

Manetain is India's first and most comprehensive curly, wavy, and natural hair care and accessories brand building a complete ecosystem of products specifically formulated for the 60 percent of Indians who have curly, wavy, or coiled hair but have historically had access only to products designed for straight hair. The brand's most important product innovation is India's first co-wash (a combined conditioning cleanser that washes and conditions in a single step, preserving curl moisture that conventional shampoos strip) the specific product that the curly girl community worldwide identifies as the most transformative introduction to the Curly Girl Method.

Amount Asked: ₹75 lakhs Equity Offered: 2.5% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹30 crore

Hinshra and Yuba walked into Season 2 Episode 25 as India's most personally lived curly hair brand founders both entering the Tank with their natural curly hair on full display, making the product demonstration as immediate and as authentic as possible. The pitch opened with their childhood hair stories the bullying nicknames (Witch, Noodles, Broom), the years of straightening treatments that damaged rather than improved their hair, and the moment they discovered the Curly Girl Method and realised that embracing their natural texture required products that simply did not exist in India. The businessman claimed that due to his hair, he has been called Noodles, Witch, and Broom in jest.

Namita Thapar exited on domain expertise grounds pharmaceutical distribution gives no specific advantage for a D2C hair care brand targeting the curly hair community. Vineeta Singh exited after raising the pricing concern. Anupam Mittal exited on valuation grounds. He found the ₹30 crore implied valuation for a ₹1 crore annual revenue business too aggressive even for a fast-growing niche category brand. Peyush Bansal exited optical retail expertise provides no strategic leverage for a curly hair care D2C brand. Amit Jain exited on domain expertise grounds. Aman Gupta was the most enthusiastic remaining Shark recognising in Manetain the same community-first brand building philosophy that had driven boAt's own early growth through an engaged consumer community.

During their pitch, the owners of Manetain asked for 75 lakhs rupees in exchange for 2.5% equity in the company. One of the sharks, Aman, made an offer of 75 lakhs rupees for a higher equity stake of 10% at a valuation of 7.5 crore rupees. The owners of Manetain countered with a proposal for the same amount of investment but with a lower equity stake of 7.5%. After some negotiations, a final deal was reached with Aman for 75 lakhs rupees in exchange for 10% equity at a valuation of 7.5 crore rupees.

Hinshra Habeeb and Yuba Aga accepted Aman Gupta's offer of ₹75 lakhs for 10% equity at ₹7.5 crore valuation with the condition to hire a CMO. The deal was a significant equity increase from the founders' 2.5% ask to Aman's 10% and a valuation markdown from ₹30 crore to ₹7.5 crore. The founders accepted, recognising that Aman's community-building expertise and consumer electronics D2C brand-building network were uniquely aligned with Manetain's community-first growth model.

Maintain is a brand which focuses on making haircare products for people with Curly, Wavy and Oily Hair. They also have hair accessories and have expanded into all hair types. Their products can be purchased from marketplaces and their own website. The global market for curly hair care products was valued at USD 2.87 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 3.37 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4.04% from 2022 to 2026. Manetain continues operating website active, products on marketplaces, community growing. The expansion to all hair types (not just curly) broadens the addressable market while maintaining the brand's curl-celebration identity. The CMO hire which Aman required as a condition brought marketing professionalism to a community-driven brand that had previously grown entirely through organic recommendations.