Ganesh Balakrishnan, co-founder of Flatheads Shoes, appeared in the fifth episode of ‘Shark Tank India’ season 2 to raise funds for his startup.
Investors in the reality show noticed that Balakrishnan’s startup was experiencing difficulties. The company’s funds had dried up, the co-founder had outgrown Balakrishnan, and the program’s venture capitalists pointed out that the startup’s 4Ps of marketing—product, price, place, and promotion—were misplaced.
The seasoned businessman’s financing pitch with more than 20 years of experience took an unexpected turn when one of the Sharks reminded him of his responsibilities to his family and 10-year-old daughter.
The IIT-IIM graduate collapsed on national television.
Despite what happened on the show, Balakrishnan took to LinkedIn to reveal that his 10-year-old daughter wanted to be an entrepreneur.
At 10, Balakrishnan Jr had already started his entrepreneurial journey. He was busy creating the 2023 calendar with his paintings and had been taking pre-orders for it. Her post read: “She is an artist and she is taking pre-orders for her 2023 calendar created with her paintings.”
The proud father shared that his daughter was a fan of Lenskart founder Peyush Bansal’s “sensible mindset.” He also said that he admires the joy and positivity of the founder of SUGAR Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh. “She is super proud that I managed to get an offer from both of them,” she wrote in her post.
Balakrishnan said that while he was dreading the broadcast of the episode, he was overwhelmed by messages from people praising his entrepreneurial spirit.
“Breaking up on national TV isn’t exactly good for your self-confidence. What I definitely wasn’t expecting is for the episode to be received the way it has been, and it’s very, very encouraging to see that people are applauding the entrepreneurial spirit”. spirit, of all startup founders, with me as a representative,” wrote Balakrishnan.
He also thanked the Sharks for helping him gain some perspective. “A sincere thank you to the sharks Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal and Namita Thapar for helping me gain some perspective. And to Sony and Shark Tank India for giving founders like me the chance to talk about what It’s really the entrepreneurial spirit. like,” he added.
“More than anything, thanks a million everyone for all the support and love. I’m having a bit of a hard time processing all of this, so please give me some time. I’ll get back to everyone as soon as I can,” she said. shared.
Balakrishnan also said that the inventory of Flatheads sneakers in India had almost been depleted after the show. “We have almost sold out our inventory in India, so please excuse us if you can’t find your size on www.flatheads.in. It would be awesome if you could tell your friends in the US and UAE to try our shoes While So if you’re in the US, you can see the Flatheads shoes at Zappos and if you’re in the UAE, we’re at Infinite Kart.”
People Group founder Anupam Mittal took to the professional networking platform to wish Balakrishnan luck and for the whole country to support him.
AgenciesBalakrishnan’s response to Mittal.
In his moving post, the Shaadi.com founder said Balakrishnan taught everyone the power of openness, honesty and acceptance. “I often say that ‘entrepreneurship is not a straight line’ and when you look back, it’s the biggest failures that are the most rewarding because ‘success builds ego and failure builds character.’ I know this because I’ve been there. ..not once but twice…he made it big and then he lost it all…forward and up,” he said.
Balakrishnan thanked Mittal for making him an offer on the show. “It was genuine and came from the heart, and I was very touched by your gesture. When things don’t go your way, you tend to lose confidence in yourself, and I was in a vulnerable state at the time. Your spontaneous offer gave me the confidence that I can bounce back strong, even if things weren’t very good at the moment. I will always be grateful for that moment,” he concluded.
Despite his struggles, Balakrishnan’s entrepreneurial spirit lives on. His story is the story of every small business owner who fights against all odds to keep his dream alive.
What do you think about Balakrishnan’s debut in ‘Shark Tank India 2’? Let us know in the comments section.
