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Flatheads 'sold out' in India after moving Shark Tank pitch by founder
Shark Tank season 2 pitcher — Ganesh Balakrishnan, founder of footwear Flatheads — turned down Peyush Bansal’s offer and rejected a job offer from Anupam Mittal.
Ganesh Balakrishnan, founder of footwear brands Flatheads, won the hearts of viewers and entreprenurs alike after an appearance on TV show Shark Tank.
He made a pitch to the sharks on Shark Tank season 2 to secure an investment for his company. The pitch where he breaks down as he narrates his story has gone viral on social media. In the pitch, sharks and viewers resonated with the entrepreneurial spirit in him.
Balakrishnan, founder of the company is a graduate of IIT Bombay and also did his post-graduation diploma from IIM Bangalore. He mentioned during the pitch that he built three companies that were not successful. In 2019 he started Flatheads but his business suffered because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company makes shoes from sustainable materials, and the cost of one pair ranges from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000.
Lenskart’s owner Peyush Bansal offered Rs 75 lakh for 33% equity, Balakrishnan refused the offer and also Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal offered him a job too.
Post the episode, Balakrishnan’s pitch began trending on social media. The budding entrepreneur who was facing a working capital shortage has now claimed that his inventory has been "sold out" in India.
In the Linkedin post, he 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.
In the post, he mentioned that 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 perspective.