Startups

Flathead’s Ganesh Balakrishnan rejects Sharks Bansal, Singh’s offer, reveals all stock sold out over the weekend

• ByStartupStory     |    January 10, 2023

Shark Tank witnessed the most emotional episode in its two-season run. Ganesh Balakrishnan pitched Flatheads, his shoe manufacturing venture. Flathead designs casual footwear ranging in price from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 per pair. It also sells the first linen sneakers in India and the first banana fiber sneakers in the world.

Balakrishnan’s company was on the verge of bankruptcy at the time his episode was shot. He stated on the show that he personally invested 35 lakh in the last two months to keep the business afloat. His co-founder, Utkarsh Biradar, who assisted in the design of the shoes, also contributed the same amount. Biradar exited the startup in 2022 but retains 30% ownership.

Despite his mounting problems, Balakrishnan turned down the only offer he received on the show. Sharks Peyush Bansal (co-founder of Lenskart) and Vineeta Singh (co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics) offered 75 lakh in exchange for 33.3% of the company’s equity. The offer amounts to Rs. 2.25 crore for the company.

However, shortly after the episode aired, Flatheads Shoes trended on social media and received so many orders that it nearly sold out its inventory in India.

“We’ve almost sold out our inventory in India, so please excuse us if you can’t find your size on www.flatheads.in,” Balakrishnan wrote on LinkedIn.

Balakrishnan founded Flatheads Shoes in 2019, just before the pandemic. The company had no customers in less than a year because, as India stayed indoors, people barely needed shoes, let alone urban workwear.

“It’s not that I can’t run a company. I am capable of it. Thing is, when you step into the market and for 4 months nobody is wearing shoes, because nobody is stepping out only – such situations arise once in generations. And it happened to us,” said Balakrishnan on the show. He also said that angel investors were not willing to invest further in the business.

Balakrishnan said on the show that he wants to gain perspective and experience and then come back to the D2C market. “I need to evaluate my priorities in life right now. I will go out there and work with a D2C brand and understand how to do this before I come back and try again. I need a couple of years. But that perspective needs to be built. And the best way to build it is to work with somebody who’s done this before,” said Balakrishnan on the show.

Ganesh Balakrishnan a IIT-IIM graduate was lauded for his genuineness and transparency. When he pitched on the show, the majority of the Sharks advised him to close the business and instead look for a regular job, leveraging his educational qualifications and work experience. While the founder of boAt, Gupta, shared his personal experience of going down the same path, Anupam Mittal even offered him a job.

 

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