Jugaadu Kamlesh is an Indian farmer and owns an agriculture product company named ‘KG Agrotech.’ He appeared as one of the pitchers in the TV show ‘Shark Tanks’ (2022) to get an investment from the judges (sharks) for his pesticide trolley cart.
Wiki/Biography
Kamlesh Nanasaheb Ghumare was born in 1996 (age 27 years; as of 2022) in Devarpade, Malegaon, Maharashtra. He did his schooling at NS Deshmukh Vidyla Chikhal O – Malegaon, Maharashtra. He dropped out of BCA in 2nd year from Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad College, Malegaon, Maharashtra.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father is a farmer. His elder brother, Nilesh Ghumare, is serving in the Indian Army.
Jugaadu Kamlesh with his brother
Wife
He is not married as of 2022.
Career
After facing a few failures in his career, he started a small hotel in his hometown, but soon he had to shut down the hotel permanently. In one of the talk shows, while talking about it, he said,
I started a hotel in my hometown all was going well. But one day my friends took my phone and called a random girl. The matter became serious and a huge controversy was created. People started judging my character. All the village people used to taunt my parents for my character. But my parents supported me they had a faith in me that I will never do anything wrong. My mother once said me that we trust you do some great work that these people who are taunting us come to us for your help.”
Kamlesh then started working as a farmer along with his father. One day, while he was working there, he saw that the pesticides they used to spray in the farms were causing serious health issues to his father. In an interview, he shared the whole incident. He said,
One day when I was in the farms, I saw my father spraying the insecticides and due to the insecticides he had various skin diseases, but he never complained about it. But I decided to do something for my father and rest of the farmers in the country. I thought of making the process easier. I was not an engineer, but had a plan I used to visit the nearby kabaadi shops to pick some spare parts or scraps. Initially, it was like a bicycle structure and was not very efficient, but gradually I kept on adding elements to it and changed it according ot the needs.”
It took almost 7 years for him to make a pesticides trolly cart. In 2012, he uploaded a video on YouTube of his trolley cart which went viral on social media. He even got offers from various companies to sell his product to them, but he rejected the offer.
In 2021, he saw a promo of the TV show ‘Shark Tanks’ on his mobile. His brother-in-law asked him to participate in the show after watching the ad. After several rounds of the audition, he appeared in front of the judges (sharks as called on the show) in 2022 along with his brother’s son Naru. In his pitch, he said,
Hamare muh me, aankh me ye pesticide jane se bimariyan hoti hain, to mere papa ko bhi ye bimari thi (These pesticides cause diseases when they go in our mouth and eyes. My father also had the disease).”
When one of the sharks asked him why he did not opt for a job in the company, he replied,
Naukri karunga toh 24 ghante ke liye kisi ka gulam rahunga, aur hum kisan hai hum kisi ke gulam nahi rehna chahte (If I do a job, I will be someone’s slave for 24 hours, and we are farmers, we do not want to be someone’s slave),”
His idea and pitch were appreciated by the judges, but the offer to invest was rejected by the four judges (sharks) Anupam Mittal, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh, and Ghazal Alagh, and only Lenskart co-founder & CEO Peyush Bansal accepted the offer. Peyush offered him Rs. 10 lakh for a 40% stake in Kamlesh’s company ‘KG Agrotech,’ and a loan of Rs. 20 lakh at a zero per cent interest rate.
Jugaadu Kamlesh with his pesticide trolley cart
A few days after the show, he was called by Peyush Bansal at his house in Delhi and discussed the product. He shared an Instagram live video with Peyush in which they talked about launching the product in the market.
Jugaadu Kamlesh with Peyush Bansal
Kamlesh has also tried his luck in acting and appeared in a few Marathi web series like ‘Patang Premacha.’
Jugaadu Kamlesh in Patang Premacha
He has also acted in a short film ‘Kaal’ based on the coronavirus pandemic.
Facts/Trivia
- In his teens, he wanted to join the Indian Army, he attempted the entrance exams several times, but after two of his foot fingers had a fracture, he quit preparing for it. He was bedridden for a few months after the fracture.
- While he was in college, he participated in various acting and singing competitions. After watching his acting skills, his friends motivated him to make a career in acting. Later, he went to Mumbai to try his luck in acting. One of his friends in Mumbai helped him in staying there and giving auditions, but he was rejected in the audition round for his looks and language. He then decided to quit acting and returned to his hometown.
Jugaadu Kamlesh singing at an event
- He then tried for a job, and a man in his village assured him of a government job on paying Rs. 1 lakh and submitting a few original documents. He agreed to it, but later, the man turned out to be a fraud. Kamlesh then decided that he would never do a job. After a series of failures in his career, he went into depression and tried to commit suicide twice.
- His interviews have been covered by various renowned media houses.
- In 2021, he received the 24 Hour Rise Startup Unicorn Award by Zee.
- Kamlesh has appeared in the Josh talks (2022) in which he shared his life story.
Jugaadu Kamlesh in Josh Talks
