In the latest season of Shark Tank India, an entrepreneur who turned down Peyush Bansal’s offer, on LinkedIn wrote he has sold out full inventory in the country.
Founder Ganesh Balakrishnan of Flatheads came on Shark Tank India season 2 to secure an investment for his shoe company. His pitch has gone viral on social media as sharks and viewers discovered a “true” entrepreneurial spirit in him.
Balakrishnan who is an IIT Bombay graduate built three companies, which weren’t successful. In 2019, he started Flatheads but due to the Covid pandemic, his business got impacted. Touted to make breathable shoes from sustainable material, the cost of one pair ranges between ₹1,000 and ₹5,000.
Bansal offered ₹75 lakh for 33% of the company, but Balakrishnan refused declined the offer. Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal offered him a job too.
Post the episode, Balakrishnan’s pitch began trending on social media. The budding entrepreneur from Bengaluru, who is facing a working capital shortage, has now claimed that his inventory has been “sold out”.
In a LinkedIn post, Balakrishnan wrote, “We’ve almost sold out our inventory in India, so pardon us if you aren’t able to find your size on www.flatheads.in. Would be amazing if you can tell your friends in the US and UAE to try our shoes”.
“Breaking down on national TV isn’t exactly great for one’s self-confidence. What I definitely didn’t expect is the episode to be received the way it has been, and it is very very heartening to see that people are applauding the entrepreneurial spirit – of all startup founders, with me as a proxy,” he added.
Balakrishnan said his 10-year-old daughter is a fan of Peyush’s no-nonsense mindset. The Flatheads founder thanked all the judges (Anupam Mittal, Namita Thapar, Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh and Peyush Bansal) for helping him to get a prespective.
