Ganesh Balakrishnan, an alumnus of IIT and IIM, has been the talk of the town in the season 2 of Shark Tank India. He is the founder of his third venture ‘Flatheads’ which was founded in 2019. He made a pitch at the Shark Tank S2, E5 that amazed the audience.
Flatheads is a shoe brand that makes their products out of breathable fibers. Balakrishnan, while presenting his pitch at the season, revealed that at the beginning, the business was doing well but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and put the business in a difficult spot. He also admitted that he has exhausted all the funds and is now using his own money to cover employee salaries and keep the company going. He mentioned that he has spent about INR 35 Lakh from his own pocket to pay for the salaries of the employees.
The Sharks informed Ganesh that they could not provide him with a deal as they believed that the INR 75 lakh he was asking for would not be sufficient to revive his company. They made him aware that his firm was facing difficulties due to the high prices of his products, as he had stated that his mid-range items were priced at Rs. 2,500, which the Sharks considered too expensive for the Indian market.
Despite the fact that the situation was not ideal, his enthusiasm and commitment to turning the loss-making business around was met with approval. He got an offer from Anupam Mittal, the creator of Shaadi.com and People Group, Vineeta Singh, the CEO Sugar Cosmetics, and Peyush Bansal, the creator of Lenskart.
Most entrepreneurs would have accepted the offer, however Balkrishnan was advised by Aman Gupta, the founder of boAt, to take a job and learn the essentials of business before continuing with his enterprise. To further motivate Balkrishnan, Gupta told him about the successes and hardships of his entrepreneurial journey, which included him once taking up a job to save up for a new venture. Gupta then expressed his opinion that there is no problem with getting a job if someone’s business is not running well. “When things didn’t go my way, I got a job, saved money, and started a new business,” he said during rejecting his pitch. This resonated with the Flatheads founder, and he decided to turn down the Shark Tank offer and pursue a job to save up and come back better with his shoe business.
But this is not the end! Surprisingly, even after having rejected the Shark’s offer, all of the Flatheads merchandise was sold out within two days of the show airing. Balakrishnan was incredibly passionate and devoted to making the failing business successful which made this happen. He expressed his gratitude for Shark Tank India and the Sharks – Anupam Mittal, Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar, and Aman Gupta – through a LinkedIn post. In the post he mentioned that the Indian supplies were all gone and encouraged shoppers from the United States and UAE to check out their website. He also shared that their Cost of Acquisition was zero for the first time ever in another post.
It is rightly said that “When you have a goal in mind and a plan to get there, nothing is impossible. It may take time, dedication, and hard work, but if you don’t give up and stay determined, you can accomplish anything.” So, let’s all believe in ourselves and find a way to make our dreams a reality.
Keywords: Startup, flatheads, Shark Tank India, The Real Entrepreneurs, Respect, Down But Not Out, Ganesh Balakrishnan, Vineeta Singh, Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal