In Conversation with Aditi Gupta, Founder of Menstrupedia
Aditi Gupta is a social entrepreneur working towards educating women about menstruation, menstrual hygiene, and the myths associated with it.
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Updated November 2026. This was first published on 21 November 2022. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count. This is a record of a conversation from that day. No new quotes were added.
Key takeaways
- Aditi Gupta is a social entrepreneur working towards educating women about menstruation, menstrual hygiene, and the myths associated with it.
- She named her unique initiative, Menstrupedia.
- Menstrupedia Comic is a complete guide on periods.
Aditi Gupta is a social entrepreneur working towards educating women about menstruation, menstrual hygiene, and the myths associated with it. She named her unique initiative, Menstrupedia. Menstrupedia Comic is a complete guide on periods.
Gupta is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and made it to the achiever’s list of Forbes India 30 under 30 in 2014 to break the taboo around menstruation. She is an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNBC, and BBC. She aspires to create a future where menstruation is not a taboo but a welcoming change in a girl’s life.
Aditi and her partner, Tuhin recently appeared on Shark Tank, India. We talk to her about her experience with the show.
What we see on television might be just a 10/ mins pitch, but it takes somewhere around 45 mins-2 hours for a pitch. Can you tell our audience what goes through into the process to appear on Shark Tank?
We received a random call asking us if we were looking for raising funds. In 2021, we were looking for funds and working on our pitch for investors. So, when we received this phone call, we thought okay let’s try it.
The whole process was in fact very smooth. After your application, if you go to the next round, they would connect with you again. In case they decide to not take your application forward at any stage, they would not connect with you. They receive a crazy number of application so they demand for you to respond very quickly. The application forms are very elaborative and exhaustive. Applying to shark tank would feel like an 8-hour job. The entire process is very elaborative which shows how much attention they pay to every detail. The team would guide you with how to move forward. If you qualify for the next stage of the application, I would suggest you to be completely dedicated to the application process.
The pitch could be cut between 10-20 minutes but you remain in the tank for about 1-2 hours. The sharks need to know a lot of details about you and your business before they invest in you. The team also ensures that they collect information regarding your background story, how your business model works, and all several other aspects. Before you appear in front of the sharks, there is a lot of documentation. A lot of conversation and discussion goes with the sharks.
To be very specific, the three main stages of the application process before you appear in front of the sharks include.
- An elaborative application form 2. Two pitch videos, and 3. Audition round.
For someone who gets to the next round, I would suggest them to be very patient and dedicated towards the entire process. The entire team works very dedicatedly, yet some delays must be expected. Be flexible, take up on their suggestions. One must understand that it is a television show and they would need to present certain things creatively to gain more traction.
Was your experience pitching in front of Sharks any different from pitching to other investors?
Pitching ideas in front of sharks was very heart warming and encouraging. When we went in the tank, the discussions were so friendly and they appreciated us for what we were doing. With other incubators, sometimes they end up bullying us.
We have been a part of two incubation program; they brand themselves as a pioneer in India. The mentor they assigned me ended up bullying me. I was so disheartened with the entire experience. After such experiences, we decided to not go for any of such programs.
But the experience with shark tank was amazing and I am excited to work with the sharks.
What was your reaction when one of the sharks suggested you become a ‘sanitary pad’ company? Is this something you might pursue in near future?
One of our major investors is a sanitary pad company, Stayfree. We help them reach their product to girls via our comic. An important chunk of money we receive is via Stayfree. I believe that we don’t need to be a sanitary pad company to sell it. We are one of the most innovative companies in the world to educate about periods. We would never want to change the basic idea for our company i.e., to educate people about things that don’t feel comfortable to talk about in open.
Did you have a specific shark in mind to acquire your investment? #
Yes, Namita was our ideal investor and we are glad that she came on board with us. Apart from Namita and Vinita, it would have been difficult for other sharks to understand the importance of this business and of course the limitation of the business.
After the airing of the episode, how did it impact the sales or leads for Menstrupedia?
After the airing of the episode, there is a shark tank effect. We saw around 13% of increase in our sale.
Apart from the sale, I would like to thank Shark Tank for the recognition we are getting. Our families are now more interested to understand how our business work. it opened up a passage for us to have many discussions with family and friends.
What would be the one factor that candidates wanting to be on the next season of Shark tank must understand?
This was Shark Tank’s first season in India and yet they got more than 62,000 applications. I am assuming that competition will be extremely tough for the upcoming seasons. My suggestion for aspiring candidates would be to respect the deadlines. Since they work with a huge amount of application, if you are proactive, it might improve your chances of getting in the next round.
Lastly, how would you rate the entire experience? #
What differentiates shark tank from other incubators is that it is a very pro-entrepreneur show.
Sharks and pitchers are a small part of the process that you see. The team is truly invested in bring entrepreneurs idea out in the world. They work along with you to improve your story telling skills, presentation skills, language, performance, and many factors that might impact your pitching.
Can you share some advice for young entrepreneurs?** I would recommend to go for investors who bring additional benefits to you apart from money. Someone who would help you grow as an entrepreneur, improve your distribution channels, gets you more connections, and how you can multiply the money.
An entrepreneur understands his/her business the best. If you get repeat sales and low customer acquisition; it indicates towards profitability. Make sure that you focus on profitability and how you can improve your customer experience. Be obsessed with solving customer issues. As an entrepreneur, I would recommend that instead of focusing on impact and status, focus on profitability. When you start to multiply money, more people would be interested in you and your business.
What is the common psychology of the investors? #
If someone is investing in your business, they would need their money to be multiplied. Having a great business plan and your business is very profitable, do not fall for the fallacy of creating an impact. If you are successful and reach a million people, eventually you will create an impact.
Questions and answers #
Did you have a specific shark in mind to acquire your investment? #
Yes, Namita was our ideal investor and we are glad that she came on board with us. Apart from Namita and Vinita, it would have been difficult for other sharks to understand the importance of this business and of course the limitation of the business.
Lastly, how would you rate the entire experience? #
What differentiates shark tank from other incubators is that it is a very pro-entrepreneur show. Sharks and pitchers are a small part of the process that you see.
What is the common psychology of the investors? #
If someone is investing in your business, they would need their money to be multiplied. Having a great business plan and your business is very profitable, do not fall for the fallacy of creating an impact.