Pitch To Get Rich, ‘India’s first-ever OTT fashion reality show’ premiered on JioHotstar last month and quickly became a conversation-starter for its novel concept. With the responses coming in steadily, Sanjay Nigam, the founder of the Fashion Entrepreneur Fund (FEF), ‘an investment-led initiative for funding India’s emerging fashion, beauty, and lifestyle businesses’, who conceptualised the show (produced with Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment) has had time to reflect on Season One. In a chat with t2ONLINE, he discussed ideating the show and what it means for Indian fashion.
How did the idea of Pitch To Get Rich come to you?
When we launched the Fashion Entrepreneur Fund (FEF), we were already backing and mentoring founders who wanted to build fashion businesses seriously — not just shows. That’s when the idea hit me: India didn’t have a bridge between its creative power and capital. Pitch To Get Rich became that bridge.
It’s where money meets real businesses, at scale, on a national platform. Produced by FEF with Dharmatic Entertainment, and streaming on JioHotstar, it takes India’s next generation of founders into prime time.
We took a giant leap of faith — and now, we’re leading the charts. Pitch To Get Rich isn’t just trending; it’s transforming how the world sees Indian fashion. Our founders are not only funded — they’re famous. The combination of Bollywood’s biggest names and real capital has created unmatched recall value and mass awareness.
And now, we’re taking it global. This is going to be India’s first OTT original from fashion and business streaming across all major international markets — from the US and UK to UAE, Singapore, and beyond. Because India’s creative economy deserves the world’s stage.
What was the original idea?
The blueprint was bold and simple — make fashion investable. We designed a founder-first show, shortlisted top labels and innovators, put them through real business challenges, and backed them with serious funding.
Season One started with ₹30 crore and ended with ₹40 crore — that’s how electric the energy got. It was more than reality TV; it was reality investing.
And the next chapter is even bigger — our brand Made As Me (an online and offline retail platform by Fashion Entrepreneur Fund) will become the retail face of this revolution, bringing India’s top designer labels, karigars, and creators into every city, every home.
How much did it evolve finally?
In three major ways. First was the capital scale. A ₹40-crore fund exclusively for fashion startups. Then star power. Pairing India’s icons — Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar, Manish Malhotra, Malaika Arora — with serious investors and operators for unmatched mentorship. The third was global reach. By premiering on JioHotstar and soon expanding internationally, we made sure fashion funding goes global.
Like I always say — India needs more fashion funds, not just fashion weeks. But trust me, we’re doing both.
What does Karan Johar bring to the table?
Karan brings three priceless things…
Narrative power: He knows how to turn serious business into stories India connects with.
Mainstream credibility: His presence signals that fashion entrepreneurship is now centre stage, not the sidelines.
Dharmatic strength: With Dharmatic co-producing, the show runs at global standards of scale, storytelling, and polish. He brings Bollywood’s sparkle and business sense in one frame — and that’s a rare combination.
Karan Johar and Sanjay NigamWhat has the response been like so far?
Unbelievable. Pitch To Get Rich is making national noise and global waves. Leading media houses have covered it, investors are reaching out, and the best part — Season 2 applications opened before Season 1 ended!
We’ve got creators, founders, ateliers from all corners of India wanting in. It’s not just a show any more — it’s a movement.
Malaika Arora
Manish Malhotra
Akshay KumarWhat are your expectations from the show?
There are three very clear goals…
1. Capital access at scale: Funding serious players in fashion, D2C, manufacturing, and tech.
2. Category education: Teaching India to read a fashion P&L and understand the economics behind creativity.
3. Global discovery engine: Every season will now act as an accelerator for investable brands, backed by FEF and its investor panel.
With Made As Me taking these brands into the market, and Pitch To Get Rich taking India to the world — this isn’t just a show, it’s India’s first fashion-business revolution with global volume. The noise started in India, but the echo — will be worldwide.