RodBez

Dilkhush is a man who grew up in a small village in Bihar, India. His dad was a bus driver. He faced many challenges from a young age. At 16, he got married after finishing 10th grade. Because of family responsibilities, he wanted a stable job. Unfortunately, he couldn't secure a job as a guard or a clerk due to various reasons like not recognizing the Apple logo. Dilkhush was often rejected in job interviews because of his looks and lack of formal education. Feeling discouraged, he returned to his village and asked his father to teach him driving. Initially, his father hesitated but later agreed. Dilkhush Kumar is Season 3's most personally transformative founding story — a Bihar village boy who was rejected from a peon position , returned to his village, learned to drive from his bus-driver father, worked in Bihar's unorganised transport sector, identified its structural inefficiencies.

RodBez was founded because of the high fuel prices and the challenge taxi drivers face in finding passengers for their return journey. Their plan is to use a special algorithm to match available empty cabs going from one place to another with customers who need a ride. RodBez is Bihar's most practically solving intercity mobility platform using an algorithmic matching system to connect passengers who need one-way intercity travel with taxi drivers who are making that route anyway (either as a hired trip or as a return journey), eliminating the two most persistent structural inefficiencies of Bihar's taxi market simultaneously: passengers paying for round trips they don't need, and drivers making empty return journeys that earn nothing.

Amount Asked: ₹50 lakhs Equity Offered: 5% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹10 crore

Dilkhush and Siddharth walked into Season 3 Episode 3 as the show's most personally moving founding story Dilkhush narrating his journey from job rejections (peon position, guard position, clerk position) through his father's bus-driving tutelage, through learning app development from YouTube, to building Bihar's largest mobility platform. The business model demonstration was Season 3 Episode 3's most practically elegant mobility market failure explanation showing exactly how Bihar's intercity taxi market wasted both driver income and passenger money through the round-trip pricing convention, and how RodBez's algorithmic matching eliminated that waste simultaneously for both sides of the market.

Peyush Bansal was the most openly impressed Shark calling both founders "genius" for their approach, their model, and their self-taught capabilities. Aman Gupta exited explicitly citing runway risk. Aman Gupta, co-founder and CMO, BOAT opts out of the pitch, saying: "your runway is less, it can go in risky territory." Anupam Mittal was impressed by the founders personally but was not sure how they would be able to scale this business profitably. Ritesh Agarwal (OYO Rooms guest Shark) was the most personally connected investor. I am happy that you have brought small problems of India to this platform. Vineeta Singh wanted to know their approach to scaling and co-invested with Ritesh after finding the model compelling.

Founders asked for ₹50 lakhs for 5% equity (₹10 crore valuation). Ritesh and Vineeta offered ₹20 lakhs for 5% equity plus ₹30 lakhs debt at 12% interest for 2 years (₹4 crore valuation). The founders accepted. RodBez closed the deal with Ritesh and Vineeta. The deal provided the same total capital (₹50 lakhs — ₹20L equity plus ₹30L debt) at a significantly lower equity valuation (₹4 crore vs. ₹10 crore ask) with the debt component at 12% interest requiring repayment over 2 years. The founders accepted because Dilkhush had explicitly said he wanted expertise more than money, and Ritesh's OYO operational wisdom and Vineeta's brand building experience were the most directly applicable strategic assets available.

Dilkhush Kumar and Siddharth Shankar Jha accepted Vineeta Singh and Ritesh Agarwal's joint offer of ₹20 lakhs for 5% equity plus ₹30 lakhs debt at 12% interest for 2 years valuing RodBez at ₹4 crore. The deal was confirmed and formally closed after the episode aired.

Talking about their experience on Shark Tank India 3, Dilkhush said: "Shark Tank India 3 played a pivotal role in refining and reshaping our goal and brand, RodBez, with a focus on supporting Bihar's development into a modern metropolis with an effective transportation network. The sharks' insightful advice not only inspired us but also charted a clear vision for our business journey." Ritesh concluded saying: "I have learned from you that what all can be learned from YouTube. Keep motivating the youth of Bihar." RodBez continues building Bihar's intercity mobility infrastructure the Vineeta and Ritesh investment providing both capital for driver network expansion and the OYO operational expertise that Dilkhush had specifically cited as the model he wanted to learn from directly.