Entrepreneurial advice from Rohan Oza
Rohan Oza, co-founder of CAVU Ventures and a guest shark on TV’s “Shark Tank,” considers a few factors before making an investment in a brand.
“First things first: the product. He asked the audience at SNX, SNAC International’s education and partnership forum held on March 27–29, “Is your product truly differentiated?” Being the sixth kombucha on the block is not possible. That won’t help you in any way. You must rank first or second. If not, you’re done for.
A total addressable market, or TAM, is what Mr. Oza, an investor in food and beverage firms, defined as the market in which the product must differentiate itself.
He went on, “Fortunately, everyone in this room is seated in a large TAM, which is snacking.” “Jump into a place where you believe you have room to flourish. The second is that you need to locate a founder that you support and believe in.”Over the years, Mr. Oza has come across several products and founders that he supports. One such founder is Megan Reamer, who was speaking with him on stage at SNX and is the creator of the Jackson’s brand of sweet potato chips. She struck a contract with Mr. Oza after pitching them on “Shark Tank” with her spouse.
After five entrepreneurs presented their ideas at the SNAC Tank competition, she asked the shark questions. He stated it’s critical to identify a brand that truly serves a purpose.
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It might serve a missionary purpose. It might be humorous. It might be sizzling. The brand needs to have something unique about it; it might be a link with a certain audience, he added. “There must be a small amount of zhuzh.”Packaging that stands out is essential for new brands; it should convey the brand’s objective as well as its appearance. He also emphasized the significance of social media influencers, citing the statistic that one in ten Americans has an impact on the other nine.
He claimed that because micro-influencers engage their audience, “the DNA of brands today is built through them.” “When that audience accepts the brand, the foundation of your brand story is established.”
Additionally, Mr. Oza discussed the steps involved in creating a great snack. A snack maker used to only have to consider the food itself and whether they could build a buzz around it.Then, he continued, “it became what I call the absence of bad.”That’s a low-fat chip or a drink without added sugar. Consumers today are searching for goods that include beneficial ingredients like probiotics, fiber, or more protein.
“People are considering the brand’s potential benefits to the environment as well as to themselves,” he stated. “Well, that’s very Gen Z.”The topic of “Shark Tank” came up after we talked about the value of large gross margins and the promise of decadent but acceptable snacks. Are the interactions portrayed on TV real?
“It’s true,” he declared. “There is no backdrop or script. When you go in, the first thing you notice is that they are standing right in front of you. That none of us can prepare is excellent news. We are unable to Google. I am unable to even take out my phone to look up something when I’m watching TV. You essentially get four minutes to hear their pitch, after which the many sharks will likely ask you questions for thirty minutes. And they condensed that into eight excellent minutes of television. I adore it because it’s passionate, challenging, and full of both triumph and failure—sort of like real life is.”