Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal recently spoke about why he did not appear as a judge on Shark Tank India, following Swiggy’s sponsorship of the show.
Speaking on Raj Shamani’s Figuring Out podcast, Goyal shared that the producers of Shark Tank India informed him about the decision after Swiggy came on board as a sponsor. According to Goyal, the sponsorship arrangement included a condition that the Zomato CEO should not be part of the judging panel.
Goyal said he was informed of the restriction by the show’s team and was comfortable with the decision. He added that he took the situation lightly and even joked with the producers, asking them to “get a lot of cash out of them.”
When asked whether he would have imposed a similar condition if Zomato were sponsoring the show, Goyal said, “My conscience would not allow me to do that.” He explained that he would rather choose not to sponsor the show and instead focus on changing his approach and competing in the market, rather than trying to block competitors through such decisions.
